Chapter Twenty-Five: Preparing to Build the City Wall

  In the center of Wang Hai Fortress, there is a brick-and-tile courtyard with an area of about 700-800 square meters. Inside, there are six or seven rooms and some houses for servants to live in. It was originally abandoned for a long time, but after Pang Gang arrived, he ordered people to rebuild it and then moved in himself.

  Because the building was very large, Pang Gang felt uncomfortable and empty after living alone inside. He had also invited Li Xian's family and Da Zhuang, Wang Zhi and others to live together, but what made Pang Gang unexpected was that including Da Zhuang, this silly person, all people were unwilling to live in this big house, they would rather squeeze with others in the narrow and crowded temporary built houses than live in this spacious and bright tile-roofed house. This thing had puzzled Pang Gang for several days at first, until later Da Zhuang inadvertently said a sentence that made Pang Gang suddenly enlightened.

  Dazhuang said, "I may not have read books, but at least I know the basics of hierarchy. If I were to live in this house with adults on an equal footing, I would be ridiculed!"

  After hearing this sentence, Pang initially felt that the concept of hierarchy and distinction between high and low in ancient times was surprisingly strong. However, he soon thought again, isn't it the same in later generations? At least, Pang hasn't seen any ordinary worker dare to sit and drink with their boss as equals. If roles were reversed, would this small city management officer dare to sit as an equal with the bureau chief? In fact, from birth, people are artificially divided into different classes, and different identities naturally have different social circles and lives. This is not determined by individuals but by society as a whole. Hmm, I've digressed, let's get back on track.

  By the time of Chongzhen 8th year, May 26th, Pang Gang led nearly seven hundred military households to dredge the water canal near Wanghai Fortress for half a month. Especially the river canal near Lingshan Wei had been repaired, and it was expected that farming could start in early June. Da Zhuang also took dozens of military households who were good at swimming to drive several small fishing boats bought every day to go out to sea to catch fish to make up for the shortage of food, which greatly alleviated Pang Gang's pressure. With most things on track, Pang Gang put another matter on the agenda.

  In the large hall of Baihu Suo, a square long table made by an unknown carpenter was surrounded by Pang Gang sitting in the first place, followed by Hua Yan, Li Xian, Li Yuan, Da Zhuang, Wang Zhi and others. These people are all the staff under Pang Gang's command at present.

  Pang Gang looked around the lower part of the circle and said: "Everyone, after more than a month of hard work, the water canal leading to Ling Shan Wei has been partially built, and now it can be used for irrigation. It is estimated that next month we can start plowing. Now everyone will report their respective tasks to Ben Guan! Hua Yan, as the chief accountant responsible for overall planning and accounting, all major events in the fortress have passed through your hands, so let you speak first!"

  "Yes, sir!" At this time, Huayan had changed into another green shirt. Although it wasn't new, it was much better than the long shirt full of patches he wore when he first arrived. Moreover, after more than a month of recuperation in Wanghai Castle, his complexion had also become much rosier. He cleared his throat and said.

  "Gentlemen, fellow colleagues, the current population of Wanghai Fortress is 133 households with a total of 830 people. Among them, there are 410 men, including 225 able-bodied men and 111 young boys. There are 420 women, including 284 girls above the age of 13 and 136 young girls below the age of 13. Gentlemen, our Wanghai Fortress is now the largest and most populous fortress under Lingshan Wei!"

  At this point, Hua Yan's face had a proud expression, and everyone else was also smiling. The scale of Wang Hai Fortress was unparalleled in the surrounding area, with only Ling Shan Wei having more people and stronger strength. Now, Wang Hai Fortress has actually formed a small town scale.

  "Not bad!" Pang Gang nodded in satisfaction, and looked at Li Xian, who was in charge of the farm work. Li Xian understood and said: "Sir, everyone, now our seeds and tools are all ready, but we lack a bit of cattle, only fifty heads. However, this is not a big problem, without cattle, we can use people to pull it, I guarantee that we will not delay the sowing time."

  "There are now 486 stones of grain left in Wanghai Fortress, which is only enough for us to eat until September. We still need about 100 more stones of grain to make it through the autumn harvest." King Zhi's report was no longer optimistic, and food supplies were somewhat tense.

  Pang Gang furrowed his brow and asked Da Zhuang beside him, "How much can you harvest every day when you go out to sea to catch fish now?"

  Dazhuang understood Pang Gang's meaning, shook his head and said: "Sir, we catch about 100 catties of fish every day now, but after all, this fish is just a side dish. We can't eat it as our main food, so I think we should still find a way to get some grain."

  "Alright, I get it!" Pang Gang said calmly with a wave of his hand, still maintaining a composed expression on the surface, but inwardly he was cursing. Now he finally understood why the director of their unit always had a calm and collected demeanor - it wasn't that they wanted to be that way, but as the top leader, everyone's eyes were on him. If even the top leader showed a panicked expression, those below would become chaotic.

  "Now that our numbers have reached eight hundred, we should consider building a fortress. We want to defend not only the surrounding countryside but also against pirates coming from the sea. Without a wall that can withstand both, it's impossible. Therefore, repairing the city walls must be done as soon as possible. Wang Zhi, you will set out tomorrow to recruit craftsmen from Ling Shan Wei Suo, Qiu Hong Bao, and other places. Bring back as many carpenters, stonemasons, and blacksmiths as you can, no matter how many!"

  "Sir, this way our food will be even more insufficient!"

  "Don't worry about food, I'll take care of it!" Pang Gang said in a tone that brooked no refusal, his attitude extremely tough.

  Wang Zhi wanted to continue persuading, but was quietly stopped by Li Xian's gaze from the side.

  Since Pong Gang became the leader of the hundred households, although his prestige grew daily and he handled matters with great order, he was also extremely affable and approachable in his daily interactions. However, once he made a decision, he would not tolerate anyone going against it. This change might have gone unnoticed by Pong Gang himself, but those around him saw it clearly. Nevertheless, others viewed Pong Gang's transformation as only natural and welcomed it, for everyone here had closely tied their own fate to his. The more wise and decisive the leader was, the more benefits they would naturally receive.

  "Alright, it's settled then. Starting tomorrow, everyone must take action. We must build the castle walls within half a month." With that, Pang Gang slapped his palm on the table!

  "Yes! We obey your orders!" everyone replied in unison.

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