"Start construction! Start construction!"
Shouts like a mountain roar rang out all around in an instant! The sound was so loud that the ground beneath his feet seemed to tremble.
Seeing this situation, the Feng Shui old man in the open space couldn't help but feel terrified again!
"Fortunately, I have traveled around the world for many years and have gained extraordinary knowledge. If it were another chick, even if I wanted to leave a whole body today, it would be a delusion!"
Wiping the sweat from his forehead again, the old man tremblingly climbed onto the "incense table" set up on the spot with a few tables and chairs, and began to mutter something that no one could understand under the gaze of everyone. Mantras, "devout" prayers to God, praying that God can bless the successful completion of the new city.
But, can the new city really be successfully built in such a dangerous place? The old man felt that he himself had no idea.
"No, I will still have thirty-six strategies. Walking is the best strategy! If something goes wrong, my old bones will not be able to withstand the torture!"
Thinking of this, the old man who was chanting the "spell" quietly opened his eyes and looked around, and found that no one noticed him. Then he closed his eyes with peace of mind and continued to repeat the boring spell.
City, city, there is a city first, then there is a city!
In ancient times, most cities built city walls first and then built the markets inside.
This is because in an era of constant wars and frequent bandits and bandits, the city wall was a tall and thick barrier!
With its protection, people in the city can live in peace of mind, without having to worry that their family fortune, which they have worked hard to save for half a lifetime, will suddenly become someone else's trophy.
One's own wife, children and children will not become slaves in other people's homes.
Those refugees outside Ningcheng have long been told by the steward that after the new city is built, they may also live in it!
Therefore, the enthusiasm for building a new city is even higher than the previous cultivation of land in exchange for food rations!
Carrying earth and smashing rocks were all done with great effort! Whenever you find someone cheating or being naughty, you don't have to come to scold them. The big feet of the people around them will immediately kick them over!
And amid this rising enthusiasm, the city wall that the fat county magistrate thought would take a long time to build actually took shape in less than half a month!
"Master Hou, please take a look!"
On this day, Xiao Han rarely came to the construction site in Xicheng accompanied by the fat county magistrate. As soon as he arrived, the fat county magistrate immediately transformed into a qualified tour guide and began to introduce the progress here to Xiao Han one by one.
"You see, the rammed earth layer of the north city wall has basically been completed. During this period, the masons also carved and shaped the collected stones and began to work one by one!"
Taking pictures of the stone wall that was almost as tall as a person, the fat county magistrate proudly introduced it to Xiao Han.
Contrary to imagination, the ancient city walls were not entirely made of stones. The stones were just a layer on the outside. Inside the stones, they were laid out layer by layer with rammed earth.
Of course, the rammed earth here does not mean just getting some loess and hammering it with a hammer!
In order to make the city wall stronger, the craftsmen here add a certain proportion of straw, stones, and even lime into the mud, and then use ramming stones to flatten it over and over again!
Originally, in places with a lot of bamboo in the south, bamboo would be added to the mud. This is how the so-called soil becomes flesh, grass becomes sinew, and bamboo becomes bone.
However, there are few bamboos in the north, let alone tall moso bamboos, and even low slender bamboos are rare, so they can only be replaced by stones and branches.
In this way, although the toughness of the city wall is somewhat inferior, the solidity is no less than that.
"It's slow, it's still slow!"
Looking at the busy construction site in front of him and the city wall that was already taking shape, there was no joy on Xiao Han's face. Instead, he seemed to have something on his mind. He stared blankly for a while, then sighed and said to the fat county magistrate: "I need it faster!"
"Faster...faster?" Upon hearing this, the fat county magistrate was stunned on the spot!
In his opinion, the current speed has already exceeded his psychological expectations. Why is it still too slow for the Marquis?
"Yes! Faster!"
Xiao Han also walked to the city wall at this time, looked up at the tall city wall that blocked the sun, and said in a deep voice: "No matter what method you use! Just make it faster! One month at the latest, I want to see this city wall built!"
"One...month!"
If Xiao Han's words just made the fat county magistrate a little surprised, now that he heard that the city wall will be built in just one month, there were only two words left in the fat county magistrate's heart: "Madman!"
How is this not crazy?
One and a half months to build a city wall three feet high, five feet thick, and several miles long? Even if he had 50,000 people, it wouldn't be enough!
"Master Hou, why are you so anxious all of a sudden? Did something happen outside?" After being stunned for a while, the fat county magistrate came back to his senses and asked Xiao Han with a grimace.
Regarding this question, Xiao Han did respond with silence. He neither looked back nor spoke, but quietly looked at the busy construction crowd above his head.
"Okay! I know it!"
Seeing Xiao Han's appearance, the fat county magistrate seemed to have guessed something. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will make arrangements now and try every means to complete the city wall within a month!"
After that, without waiting for Xiao Han to speak again, he turned around and ran towards a temporary straw shed in the city.
"Why……"
When the fat county magistrate ran away, Xiao Han, who was standing with his hands behind his back, turned his head, looked at the fat magistrate's back and sighed quietly.
This fat man is indeed smart. He guessed right. Something big is indeed happening outside!
Just today, the Xiao family caravan suddenly informed Xiao Han with a letter from the Flying Eagle: This undercurrent that has been brewing in Shandong and Hebei for a long time seems to be about to explode completely!
Don’t ask why the news came from the Xiao Family Caravan Company first. After so many years of development, the Xiao Family Caravan Company has long become one of the most respected companies in the Tang Dynasty market!
The stores all over the country not only provided the Xiao family with a huge amount of wealth, but also continuously sent information from various places to the Xiao family, which was then analyzed and calculated by the Xiao family's think tank, and finally gathered in Xiao Han's hands.
For example, in the information sent yesterday, the Xiao family caravan analyzed that a large number of people were gathering in places centered on Xuzhou and Yangzhai.
At the same time, countless horses, baggage, and grain and grass were also shipped one after another, passing through various counties and delivered to the surrounding areas of Jinan Prefecture.
Obviously, the first target of these people is Jinan Mansion!
"Jinan? Ma Zhou seems to be in Jinan, right?"
