bullyxtreme Chapter 312: Changes in Mangcheng
Chapter 312: Changes in Mangcheng
Xiong Shilin didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Wei Ling's gourd, but he had been locked up for several months and had never taken a bath. Ten pounds of mud could be rubbed out of his body. When he heard Wei Ling asking him to take a bath and change clothes, he was naturally happy.
After hesitating for about an hour, Xiong Shilin finally appeared in front of Wei Ling with refreshed spirits. He no longer looked as sloppy as a beggar. He had shaved his beard off, washed his hair and tied it behind his head. Although he was wearing borrowed clothes from the Black Tiger Guards, he looked like a general now.
"You know how to clean yourself up." Wei Ling glanced at him and said slowly, "Which image do you think is better now or just now?"
"Hey, are you treating me like a child? Is there any need for me to say this?" Xiong Shilin didn't know why Wei Ling was talking to him about this, but he still spread his hands honestly, indicating that he liked the way he looked now.
He wanted to be naughty, but once he showered and changed his clothes, he really didn't want to go back to the solitary confinement cell.
Although he was still unwilling to accept it in his heart, he dared to shout at others and did not dare to yell at Wei Ling at all.
After all, he couldn't beat Wei Ling, and Wei Ling really cared about him.
In fact, when he put on this clean set of clothes, Xiong Shilin already felt a little regretful in his heart.
The clothes were not his own, but borrowed from a sergeant major of the Black Tiger Guard who was of similar build to him. The sergeant major's clothes looked majestic on him, let alone his own lieutenant general's clothes.
If he really left the military camp, he could only go farming... How could it compare to now?
"Come out with me." Wei Ling took Xiong Shilin out of the military camp.
Looking at the gate of the military camp behind him, Xiong Shilin felt as if he was in another world. He was still cursing in the prison just an hour ago, and now he was out of the military camp?
"General, are you going to let me go?" Xiong Shilin asked.
"Aren't you clamoring to leave? I'll show you something before you leave." Wei Ling took the reins from his personal guard and threw them to Xiong Shilin, then he climbed onto his warhorse and said, "Come on."
Wei Ling rode forward. Xiong Shilin was stunned for a moment and then quickly jumped on his horse and followed Wei Ling.
"Do you remember what you said to me when I recruited you?" Wei Ling asked as he led the way on horseback.
"I said that if following the general can help the bullied people like me to have food to eat, clothes to wear, and children to read and write, then I will follow the general for the rest of my life." Xiong Shilin said, but his voice became smaller and smaller.
Yes, wasn't it because he couldn't survive that he was forced to go up the mountain to become a bandit? The corrupt officials, heavy taxes, and oppression of the common people made it impossible for them to raise their heads. There were many people selling their children. The rich were living a life of luxury, while the poor were freezing to death on the streets. Heaven and hell coexisted in the world. He had seen too much...
Wei Ling turned his head and looked deeply at Xiong Shilin, and said nothing more.
The two men rode their horses one after the other on the way back to Mangcheng.
Xiong Shilin was surprised to find that the road from the military camp back to Mangcheng was under construction. A group of Black Tiger soldiers were laying something on the ground. Someone in the front was pouring it with a wheelbarrow, and someone in the back was using a shovel to flatten what looked like mud.
"What is this?" Xiong Shilin asked curiously.
"This thing is a new way of paving roads that Madam discovered and taught us. It's called earth cement. Now this thing is being used to build roads in the new city of Mangcheng." Wei Ling took a look and finally spoke.
When Su Jixiang was at the villa, she used hot spring water. She asked Wei Ling where the hot spring came from. Wei Ling took her to the mountain, and Su Jixiang found that there was a large amount of volcanic ash on the mountain. The volcanic ash is not only fertile, but can also be used as the most primitive cement by mixing volcanic ash with water and a certain amount of lime, because volcanic ash with a certain proportion of water and lime has water hardness!
After Su Jixiang told Wei Ling about this, Wei Ling asked the craftsmen selected from the first martial arts and skills competition to go to the mountains and transport a lot of volcanic ash. After more than a month of mixing, they finally found the most suitable ratio. They have already built several new roads in the new city area of Mangcheng with earth and cement made from this volcanic ash, and the response and effect have been very good!
In Su Jixiang's plan, not only will the prototype of this cement road be used in the urban area of Mangcheng, but such roads will also be paved throughout the entire Mangcheng connecting all subordinate counties and towns.
So now half of the Black Tiger Army in Mangcheng is training soldiers and the other half is paving roads, with a rotation every five days. Those who are good at paving roads can be promoted first. Now the entire Black Tiger Army is rolling up their sleeves and working hard on road construction.
Although Wei Ling felt that building roads on such a large scale was a bit excessive at first, when he stepped onto the dirt and cement roads that had been built in Mangcheng, he understood the value of Su Jixiang's plan!
With this kind of road, not only is it flat and clean, but the transportation capacity will be greatly improved. The marching speed of a large number of troops between Mangcheng and its subordinate counties and towns will be increased by more than three times. A large number of new chariots can pass quickly on this road, and even soldiers can directly ride in carriages to the next county and town. This speed is much faster than before!
The Black Tiger Army’s rapid support capability has increased dramatically!
Moreover, this kind of earth cement can also be used in the construction of city walls, which greatly improves the construction speed and the strength of the city walls.
After trying this road, the people of Mangcheng praised it highly. The usual bluestone roads are not as smooth as the roads paved with earth and cement. They will become uneven after being trampled for a long time, and it takes a long time to build. This kind of earth and cement road is much simpler. You just need to flatten and tamp the ground, then lay a layer of lime, a layer of gravel, and then a layer of lime, and then lay this kind of earth and cement. After two or three days of drying, you can walk directly. It used to take more than a month to build a road, but now it can be paved in a few days while leveling the ground.
Xiong Shilin followed behind Wei Ling and was curious at first when he looked at the dirt and cement roads. When they were about to reach Mangcheng, he was even more amazed.
Mangcheng seemed to have changed a lot from what he had seen before.
In just a few months, the new city wall has been built. Although it has not been completely completed, its scale has been revealed. The wall looks taller and stronger than the original one!
New seedlings have sprouted in the fields outside Mangcheng, presenting a thriving scene.
"This is the field of our Black Tiger Army." Wei Ling slowed down when he was about to reach the city gate, pointed to a large field on the left that stretched as far as the eye could see and said to Xiong Shilin.