Chapter 7

Northern Italia

Llassar studied the sour faces across the long table from him. He’d been so close to settling down and putting all of this behind him, but the Empire he had helped create kept needing him to come back.

First, it had been to Sardinia, to find out why that island was resisting the unification of Italia, and once Italia was unified, getting it integrated into the alliance.

Now it was helping the people of this peninsula improve their lands, to produce and distribute more goods and make the work more efficient, freeing up men and material for the war effort.

This is what brought him to this cramped room full of nervous men, all demanding more from him. Ledgers and correspondence directing those improvements he had been assisting in covered the table’s surface.

The regional prefect, a thin man named Baalius Tanitor, straightened in his chair and cleared his throat.

“My lord, on behalf of our provincial government, I extend our deepest gratitude for the Empire’s assistance in this endeavor. The scale of what we’re attempting here is greater than anything that has ever been undertaken in Italia. The engineering challenges alone would have been impossible without Britannian expertise and resources.”

Llassar kept his face neutral. That was one thing he hated about this place. They were worse than the Romans ... or at least the Romans of Britannia. They never said what they meant and often didn’t mean what they said, always using words to try to dull the senses.

They were here to review specifications for a new trunk line that would run through the mountainous terrain before cutting east across river valleys toward the Adriatic coast, as well as secondary routes that would branch off, connecting smaller settlements to the main artery.

“We, of course, are happy to assist our friends and neighbors,” Llassar said diplomatically. “My chief engineer, Tarbantu, will provide us with the detailed progress report.”

Tarbantu stood, a stocky man with calloused hands and ink stains on his fingers. His accent marked him as from Hispania, one of the many to leave their homeland and travel to Britannia to find their place in the world.

“The primary trunk line running north through the foothills has encountered bedrock formations that weren’t indicated in our initial surveys,” Tarbantu began. “The granite outcroppings required extensive blasting operations, which delayed our schedule by three weeks. We used twice the anticipated amount of black powder and brought in additional crews from the quarries near Florentia. Cost overruns were substantial, but we maintained forward progress. The section through the hills is now nearly complete, with track laying proceeding at the planned rate.”

Shifting through some documents, he pulled out a large map which he unfolded and spread out on the table.

“Our crews are working in the main river valley. The terrain here is more favorable, and we’re making good time. The bridge construction remains on schedule, with the first span completed last week. The secondary routes, however, are going to be an issue. The amount of steel available for civilian projects has been reduced again, and we are competing with the pacified areas of Greece and some projects in Germania for what is available.”

“Without these branch lines, the railway’s economic potential remains limited,” Baalius said.

“Then ask your government for higher allotments,” another official added.

“I have sent a request already and explained our need, but I assure you, if that were possible, it would have already been done,” Llassar said. “You need to remember, this is not like the war with Carthage. We are facing an enemy on near equal technological footing who apparently has a larger industrial base. The volume of material needed for the front is staggering. The strategic priority is completing the main trunk line. Rapid movement of legions and supplies throughout the peninsula cannot wait for agricultural connections. Branch lines, while important and planned, are secondary compared to the needs of the moment.”

Baalius frowned. “But the economic benefits to the region would be substantial. These towns produce the grain that feeds our workers and soldiers.”

“They can continue using existing roads. Focus your efforts on the trunk line. In the meantime, we can divert some resources to help improve those roads using local resources.”

“Fine, but that is not the only issue,” Baalius said. “The railway’s success depends on more than just the tracks themselves. Our main western port must be upgraded to handle the volume of trade the railway will generate. We are already having issues with our current facilities loading cargo onto these large caravels of yours.”

“That project has already begun,” a portly man at the far end of the table said. “I oversee the port modernization project. We’ve completed plans to begin dredging the harbor which should be finished well before the rail line is done. We also have plans to improve and increase the piers as well, although our initial talks have faced unexpected resistance.”

“What kind of resistance?” Baalius asked.

Llassar had the same question. This was new information that hadn’t appeared in the morning reports.

“The local dockworkers’ guild has been vocal to our surveyors once they learned what we were doing, saying that we were bringing in trained workers to do the work on specialized equipment. It has only gotten worse since the first steam dredge, something Master Lucal built using one of the riverboat models, appeared in the harbor,” the man continued. “They are angry that their employment is threatened and concerned at hearing how fast our steam-powered dredge will work as opposed to the more traditional methods. I think they are worried about the economic factors.”

Llassar had encountered similar guild resistance in Caledonia when introducing Britannian manufacturing methods. Traditional craftsmen feared obsolescence, but progress couldn’t be held hostage to their concerns.