I was now outside the palace waving goodbye to my father as the carriage moved to take me towards the mansion that was given to me during my appearance in the court to be used as my base. It was now fully staffed with people from the palace and directly under my father, after he had removed the already existing personnel. He understood that I would be uncomfortable with people I did not trust so he made appropriate arrangements.
The mansion was just outside the capital borders and situated in the apt direction of the village towards which I was going to construct the new road. It was very accomodating and I had no issues. The troops that were sent were a mix of what came from my father and the first elder. I ordered the captain to help everyone settle down as I would not require most of them the majority of the time and a guard of him and four others was sufficient for everyday purposes.
I made myself at home in the mansion and for the rest of the day I was exploring the place. I had a hearty dinner and called it a night and went to sleep. The next day I made my way to the temporary tent that had been erected where I was to inspect if everything I had required was in acceptable quality and quantity. The place was already filled with temporary worker camps where a thousand workers were easily visible even to the untrained eye. I inwardly praised the officials for such enthusiasm because this was going to be my most valuable resource in the project.
The person responsible to maintain and organise the workers hurried over to my side after seeing my arrival, greeting me politely. I sat in the only chair present inside the tent and asked him to give me a detailed report on the total number of personnel on the site.
He reported that the number of able bodied workers on-site were 1239. The project was supposed to be a long term one that would last for a year at the minimum and this had led to the workers coming to the camps along with their family, thereby increasing the worker population to a healthy two thousand, including the elders and children.
The artisans appointed by my father and the elders had also arrived early morning today. Though very low in numbers when compared to the workers, they had a higher social status and thus were to be treated differently. There were ten blacksmiths, three tailors, two doctors along with their ten assistants and twenty masons.
The blacksmiths were to be tasked with making and maintaining the various tools that were to be used during the project. The work was going to be hard and the use of tools would be equally brutal, so regular maintenance of the old tools and making of new tools was going to be a major task.
The task of construction was always brutal to the clothes and the body equally. The tailors were here to make sure the workers have adequate clothes to work on the project. They would also be useful in the creation of the cheap shoes that I had thought to create to help the workers perform more efficiently.
Any place that has a large human population gathered for long periods of time was bound to require the expertise of doctors. There were always several minor ailments tormenting a large population. Another reason the doctors were so important at his project was the nature of the job. Small cuts, wounds were bound to be common on such a large road construction site.
The masons were going to be my main help and personnel during the whole project. These were the only people who were somewhat familiar with the process of construction. I was going to train them in the basic procedures that I did not wish to supervise personally. Them already being in the profession will help me in not making them understand everything from scratch and they will be able to actually follow my ideas.
The supervisor informed me next of the housing arrangements for the huge population. The workers and their families will be given large tents to stay. The artisans will be provided with personal tents for their stay.
I knew that these workers were already aware of the quality of housing they were to receive here and will make no trouble. My issue was with the sanitation and cleanliness in this unruly camp. Honestly, the most irritating thing about this era to me had been the sanitation. I being a prince myself had to do my business in a way that I did not like, then what about the workers. The accepted custom was to do it in the open away from the settlements or near a water body. This was very poor in my opinion and I wished to search for a better way.
I had set my first task in completing these small details of the camp before actually starting the work.
I was also informed that there were various camps to be set up and that they will require a few days. The various artisans all required various setups before they can be actually useful.
I asked him to arrange ten workers that had sufficient prestige and could become the representatives in them. I told him to arrive with them at the mansion right away. He did not understand the need and repeatedly assured me that he has full control and they will be obedient and hard working. I dismissed his ramblings and asked him to carry out the task. I asked the captain to send one of his men and call the representatives of all the different artisans to the mansion.
I returned to the mansion along with my guards. I had set up a whole area of the mansion as my temporary office to carry out any official work or meetings while on the project.
I quietly sat in the chair and waited for the people to arrive.