Chapter 52

< 52. Waterworks. >

As time passed, the amount of copper that entered the empire increased.

However, copper pipes could only be used properly after water was brought to the city.

In other words, burying the pipes was a problem that had to be considered after ensuring that water was supplied from the source to the city.

Kim Ki-woo gathered the best elites in the empire for this purpose.

Scholars from the university, the top construction workers in the country, experts in designing roads and buildings, and so on.

It was a dazzling lineup that could be called a dream team.

Kim Ki-woo looked around at the men who had gathered in one place and opened his mouth.

“I’m very grateful that you came here despite the sudden call.”

“How can you say that? It’s an honor for us to be invited by you.”

“Haha. I’m glad you think so.”

Kim Ki-woo continued.

“I called you here to start a new project. It’s a project that we’re trying for the first time, so I need you, the best talents in the empire.”

“The best talents in the empire? You’re too generous.”

“Haha. There’s no need to be modest. Your excellence is known by me and all the people of the empire, isn’t it?”

The men’s faces smiled at Kim Ki-woo’s words.

Thanks to that, the tense atmosphere eased a lot.

Perhaps because of that, cautious questions began to pop out of their mouths.

“By the way, what do you mean by a new project?”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone’s eyes focused on Kim Ki-woo’s mouth.

Kim Ki-woo slowly revealed the main point.

“You must have felt it yourself, but the cities of the empire are lacking water. I don’t like this situation. The size of the city will continue to grow, and new cities will be built all over the empire. We need to solve this problem quickly.”

As soon as Kim Ki-woo finished speaking, some of them flashed their eyes.

Soon after, one of them asked Kim Ki-woo cautiously.

“Do you mean to build waterways and bring water to the city?”

Kim Ki-woo’s eyes widened slightly at that question.

It was because he hit the nail on the head.

“Ho ho. That’s right. How did you know that?”

“We also happened to have a conversation about it. As you said, there is not enough water in the capital. If we can make sturdy waterways, water supply will be smooth.”

“Haha. That’s exactly what I think!”

Kim Ki-woo clapped his hands without realizing it.

When their conversation ended, the others who were listening also understood the situation.

They were all veterans who had been rolling around in the field for a long time. So it was natural.

“Waterways… It seems like water supply will be smooth if they are made properly.”

“Water flows from high places to low places, so if we adjust it well, we can bring water from far away.”

As they each added a word, Kim Ki-woo’s smile grew thicker on his face.

He liked seeing things go smoothly without him having to step in.

“That’s why there’s no such thing as an empty reputation! But I’ll explain more about the system I’ve been planning. We can talk about it later.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll listen carefully.”

Kim Ki-woo got everyone’s consent and walked towards the blackboard to explain more about the waterworks.

He picked up a piece of chalk that was placed under the blackboard.

‘It’s been a while since I made chalk.’

When he visited middle school before, Kim Ki-woo witnessed a scene where classes were conducted without blackboards and chalks.

This seemed very inefficient to Kim Ki-woo’s eyes. He needed chalks to improve this.

Fortunately, making chalks was relatively easy.

It was just a matter of hardening calcium carbonate powder from limestone.

Of course, it was more dusty and brittle than modern chalks, so Kim Ki-woo didn’t use it much, but it was handy in situations like this.

Thud, thud, thud.

White chalk dust stuck to the blackboard as Kim Ki-woo’s hand moved.

The source of water, stone tunnels that would carry water from there to the city, reservoirs in the city, copper pipes and their shapes were all drawn on it.

Kim Ki-woo explained them briefly while pointing at them one by one.

“Ah, so that’s why you raised the price of copper while increasing its supply.”

“That’s right. These copper pipes will be buried all over the city.”

“I think I understand how water will be supplied.”

“If your plan succeeds, the city’s water will surely be abundant.”

Everyone understood Kim Ki-woo’s plan.

Kim Ki-woo took advantage of the momentum and continued.

“I named this system waterworks.”

“Waterworks…”

“The waterworks that will be built from now on will gradually be built in all cities, and when the waterworks system is fully established, the people of the empire will no longer suffer from water shortage. 

What do you say, will you write a new history with me?”

As soon as Kim Ki-woo finished speaking, the faces of the men who gathered here were filled with solemnity.

It was a sense of challenge for something new.

They were all the ones who contributed greatly to the development of the empire.

They were the ones who had overcome many difficulties and reached their current positions.

Therefore, what they had to say was decided.

“Please give us the honor of being part of your plan.”

“I will follow you too.”

With that, the construction of the waterworks was resolved.

***

The architects had accumulated enough know-how on civil engineering while laying paved roads.

Therefore, they understood very well the importance of surveying and designing.

“First, let’s narrow down the places that can be used as sources.”

“Got it.”

The first thing that started was to investigate the places that could be used as sources for the waterworks.

Many things were considered to be selected as potential sources.

How close the source was to the city, whether there were any obstacles in the way, how high the source was compared to the city, and so on.

Thanks to that, surveying of the terrain from the potential source to the city began.

For a while, research and evaluation on potential sources continued. Kim Ki-woo received these reports from time to time and tried to find a more suitable source.

After a long survey, he was able to narrow down the potential sources.

After that, Kim Ki-woo started to investigate the water quality.

“The water from the source is what the people of the empire will drink. Remember that you should not neglect your investigation.”

“We will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

Kim Ki-woo emphasized this several times.

Many people were dispatched to potential sources.

And they started to investigate the water quality according to the guidelines set by Kim Ki-woo.

They carefully examined whether the water was discolored, whether there were too many impurities, whether the people around who drank the water were healthy, whether the plants around were healthy, and so on.

Those with problems were boldly excluded from the list.

That’s how the final candidates for potential sources were narrowed down.

Kim Ki-woo and experts had a deep conversation about them.

“This source is too far from the city. It would be better to choose this one instead.”

“Huh. Don’t you see that it will make construction more difficult if you choose that source? You should look at the terrain first rather than distance.”

“Hmm. How about this one? The path is very flat and the distance is relatively short.”

“That one has a lower altitude than other places.”

Kim Ki-woo listened carefully to their conversation.

The potential sources that made it to the final candidates had their reasons.

They had one or more advantages while having decent water quality.

Then, what he had to consider next was a place where he could reduce construction costs while ensuring uninterrupted water supply.

They discussed this topic for quite a long time.

Kim Ki-woo finally decided on one area at the end of it.

“Then I’ll make this place my final decision. If anyone has any other thoughts, speak up.”

“As you wish.”

That’s how he decided on a source.

The next thing he did was accurate surveying and designing.

He had already done a rough survey when he selected potential sources, but he needed more precise surveying to build proper waterworks.

He had to finalize his design based on this.

Of course, this was not Kim Ki-woo’s job, but construction workers’.

Kim Ki-woo devoted himself to other things during that period.

It was an experiment on water filtration.

‘I need to make a water filtration facility in advance in case of an emergency. The people of the empire will drink this water from now on.’

Even if they drank water from their current source, it would not harm their health much.

But if for some reason the source water became contaminated, it could cause a disaster.

Kim Ki-woo tried his best to prevent this by experimenting with slow filtration.

The concept of slow filtration was simple.

It was passing water from a reservoir through fine sand and gravel layers.

This was a principle of filtering out impurities.

In addition, microorganisms that proliferate in sand layers filter out and decompose substances suspended and dissolved in water.

Through this process, many things dissolved in water such as bacteria, ammonia, iron, manganese are removed.

“Will this really work?”

The hygiene director questioned the experiment on slow filtration.

It was only natural to think so, since he was just passing the water that settled in the sedimentation tank through sand and gravel.

Of course, Kim Ki-woo understood his doubts.

But it was hard to convince him right now.

He couldn’t confirm the microorganisms and dissolved substances in the water at the moment.

“Haha. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then trust me this time. The water that passes through the sand will be much cleaner than before.”

If time passed and science advanced more, this question would be resolved.

Kim Ki-woo hoped that such a time would come soon.

Finally, surveying and designing were completed.

At the same time, Kim Ki-woo also finished his experiment on slow filtration.

The system of waterworks shown in the design was as follows.

Water stored in a reservoir goes to a slow filtration tank.

There, water is filtered and flows to the city through stone tunnels.

The water that arrives there is collected in a reservoir in the city and spreads throughout the city through copper pipes.

Kim Ki-woo and experts reviewed the completed design several times.

And finally, they were confident that they could proceed with construction.

“I’ll start construction from now on. Be careful not to cause any accidents.”

“Yes, we will.”

“Good. I trust you.”

Kim Ki-woo patted each of the construction managers’ shoulders and encouraged them.

Soon they scattered to their respective construction sites.

‘I don’t think I need to worry about waterworks for a while.’

Now that the design was done, there was nothing for Kim Ki-woo to do.

The rest was for construction workers to follow the design and build it.

The empire only had to invest manpower and resources steadily for building waterworks.

‘Then I’ll move on to the next thing.’

< Waterworks. > The end