85: Chapter 0085 New Look of Black Cliff Village

"Cooking!?"

General Du Lun frowned and paced back and forth a few times.

"That makes sense. To lay siege to a city, one must certainly conserve energy and build up strength."

"Pass down the order: the entire army must not slack off!"

"Scout Battalion, investigate again and report back!"

Meanwhile.

In Heiya Village, after the soldiers of the White Kings Army had left, the area around the exposed coal mine was full of people working.

Wheelbarrows and various porters with shoulder poles were constantly transporting baskets of coal and stones to the riverside.

Heiya Village originally had over three hundred able-bodied men, and upon seeing the twenty-thousand-strong army arrive, they were so terrified that they trembled.

But once the Zhenbei Army arrived, they not only did not harm them but even distributed food and new clothes to them.

Compared to the White Kings Army, who would marrow-suckingly exploit them and whip them at the slightest provocation, the villagers were moved to tears!

Lin Xiao told the villagers to their faces that as long as they were willing to work diligently for the Zhenbei Army, not only would they have food and drink, but they would also receive three hundred wen a month, just like the soldiers!

This made the local residents of Heiya Village overjoyed. They worked with great enthusiasm and clearly explained the distribution of all resources in the surrounding area.

Hei Tiaozi, the village chief's son, was also the foreman of the coal miners in Heiya Village.

After mingling with the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army for three days, Hei Tiaozi plucked up the courage to ask some curious questions.

"Big Brother, aren't you guys soldiers? Don't you feel uncomfortable digging for coal and moving stones with us every day?"

Hei Tiaozi pushed his wheelbarrow and, looking at the several Zhenbei Army soldiers carrying stones beside him, couldn't help but ask.

This group of people, upon arriving on the first day, had simply discarded their armor, put on coarse hemp clothes, and gone straight into the mine.

Three days had passed, and they hadn't been seen riding horses or practicing with spears. Just like the villagers, besides eating and sleeping, they were doing manual labor!

There were even several hundred people setting up over a hundred large pots at the entrance of the village every day to cook meals.

The villagers only needed to work every day, with no worries about food or drink!

"Haha, what's wrong with that? In Baishui, this is exactly what we do!"

"Clearing wasteland before was much more boring than this. Running around now is much more interesting!"

"Fighting wars gets people killed. Being able to do some manual labor here and earn some military pay—isn't that better than fighting?"

After hearing this, an outrageous thought popped into Hei Tiaozi's mind—could they possibly not be the Zhenbei Army!?

A large military tent by the river served as the temporary command post.

"Lin Xiao, the White Kings Army in Wu Mountain is very quiet,"

Wei Dongxue said with a smile, "So far, they have only dared to send a few scouts to watch from afar; they don't even dare to get close to investigate."

"Haha!! They must still think we are a twenty-thousand-strong army!"

Qin He clutched his stomach and laughed, "Little do they know, we only have five thousand real Zhenbei Army soldiers; the other fifteen thousand are all craftsmen and Militia!"

General Zhao Kuan stroked his beard and sighed, "My worthy brother, nobody could have expected this move of yours!"

"Sending out twenty thousand troops, but only five thousand are for fighting—it is unheard of throughout history!"

After incorporating the Cangzhou Army, Lin Xiao had separated over ten thousand men who were not suitable for fighting but were better suited to be logistics personnel, craftsmen, and farmers.

He organized this group into the "Militia" and, unless necessary, they would not need to go to the battlefield.

Since they could still receive military pay and didn't have to charge into battle, most of the Militia had no objections.

Who would want to risk their lives if they could live well?

For the very few who refused to believe it and insisted on fighting in the Zhenbei Army, Lin Xiao did not stop them.

Anyway, once they couldn't keep up with the training, they would naturally recognize the reality.

"Actually, I wanted to conscript another five thousand laborers, but the wasteland reclamation in Baishui is crucial for food security and must be completed on schedule."

Lin Xiao pointed to several key points on the map.

"As for Wu Mountain, there is no need to worry. At most, they have five thousand men; if they dare to come, they are just seeking death."

"The key is the two commanderies of Lincang and Yangquan; we must keep a close watch on them."

"If Prince Bai takes advantage of our absence to attack Baishui, that would be a major hidden danger!"

General Zhao Kuan said solemnly, "Rest assured, my worthy brother. Over a hundred scouts have already infiltrated these commanderies. As soon as there is any disturbance, it will be reported immediately."

Lin Xiao nodded; he was confident in General Zhao Kuan's ability to handle matters.

This guy had the "keen eye for talent," so the scouts he selected all had some real skills.

After discussing the military situation, Lin Xiao wasted no time and went directly to inspect the construction site by the river.

Lin Xiao had people use wooden walls to separate the area into three sections.

The workers in each section were only responsible for one task and were not allowed to ask about anything else.

The first section was upstream of the river.

Lin Xiao had people quickly dig a few small channels to wash all the mined coal once.

He discovered that people in this world would mine coal and then immediately use stoves to burn it into charcoal for smelting iron.

However, unwashed coal had too many impurities; not to mention the many harmful substances, its combustion efficiency was also low.

The second section was the firing area.

Whether it was coke, lime powder, or clay powder, all had to be fired at high temperatures.

With an unlimited supply of coal, fuel was not an issue; what was lacking were stoves.

Fortunately, with many hands, the work was light. Three days later, two stoves had already been built, and the third and fourth were not far off.

Old Yu was originally in construction, so he understood these tasks without needing too much detail.

The third section had the strictest security measures.

Lin Xiao only let his most trusted, injured veteran soldiers from the Border Army handle the work.

Lime powder and clay were mixed in a three-to-one ratio, with some iron powder added...

After mixing, some crushed stones were added, and the mixture was poured into brick molds.

On the fifth day.

The first batch of cement bricks was finished.

Lin Xiao picked up a heavy, rough-looking brick and was very satisfied.

"Husband, is this a brick?"

Mu Wanying had been looking forward to it for several days, but after waiting for a pitch-black brick, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"Haha, Wanying, don't underestimate this brick."

Lin Xiao said, "If you don't believe me, try hitting it with a hammer and see if you can break it."

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanying was unconvinced. Although she was a woman, her martial prowess far exceeded that of the average man of her age.

She borrowed a hammer and swung it directly onto the cement brick!

"Clang!!"

Mu Wanying's hand went numb, and she was astonished to see that the cement brick had only lost a layer of its surface!?

At this, the expressions of the other generals changed!

Commander Bai Buhei and the others all rushed up to try it. As a result, after seven or eight people hammered it over a dozen times, the cement brick finally shattered into pieces.

Seeing this scene, the site fell into a deathly silence!

Lin Xiao was not surprised by this reaction.

In this world, they didn't even have Sanhetu, so for them, cement was simply too overpowered!

"Husband, if we use these bricks to build city walls, we won't have to fear catapults anymore!"

Lin Xiao, however, shook his head, "It's not realistic in the short term. City walls require too much manpower; not to mention that it takes too long, and we don't have enough cement bricks."

"General, if that's the case, what do you intend to use these cement bricks for?" Wei Dongxue asked in confusion.

Lin Xiao smiled, "If you want to defend a place, besides building city walls, there are actually other ways."