The cook originally planned to save the soup for boiling meat porridge for everyone to eat in the morning.
In the end, I had to start all over again.
The dogs had been crying for a long time and finally got their own big bones.
He gnaws on and on without fear of breaking his big teeth.
After these people had eaten, they went back to rest.
After a tiring day, full meals, and two taels of wine for everyone, this is the time when we feel most sleepy.
Only the soldiers standing guard in the infantry company were still staring wide-eyed at the dark forest in the distance on the watchtower.
The pioneer camp had been attacked by Indians before.
Therefore, the soldiers on night watch were extremely careful, and no one dared to be passive and slack.
The soldiers worked in shifts of two hours, so they didn't doze off.
Rarely, everyone spent a Christmas Eve.
Except for a few ferocious beasts that smelled the strong smell of meat emanating from the camp, but were afraid of the bonfires around the camp and secretly patrolled around the camp, and were caught in the trap set by the hunting team, no enemies attacked the camp.
Of course, these greedy beasts became the pioneer team’s lunch the next day.
In the early morning, as soon as it dawned, the sound of getting up was heard in the camp.
They were all a group of rough old men. They all got dressed, fetched some water from the river, washed their faces casually, and then started working again.
Today's task is more important, not only to set up the unfinished pier, but also to build houses.
The logging team's job is the simplest, which is to keep cutting down trees. There are so many trees here that the logging team can cut down to despair.
Even useless trees can be used as firewood. There are more and more open spaces outside the camp.
At the same time, the logging team will also dedicate a part of the carpenters to process the logs so that they can be used to build houses.
Zhao Xu walked around the camp holding a small notebook, wondering if there was anything missing.
Another public toilet should be built in the camp near the downstream direction.
I just arrived here yesterday, and everyone was solving problems in the temporary dug pit.
In the future, this place will be used as a transit camp to welcome people to and from the camp. There will be many people on the move, and it will even serve as a post station. There will still need to be a public toilet.
It is more convenient to build a canteen next to the barracks where the accommodation is located. It is more convenient for the cooking and eating areas to be next to the accommodation.
The fence needs to be thickened, and a row of shorter wooden rafts can be erected on the inside.
Leave a one meter wide space in the middle and fill it with pebbles and soil.
In this case, in addition to being on the watchtower, the soldiers can also stand on the wall and shoot outside.
The wooden fence on the inside can be completed first for those who are left behind, and the work of building up the soil can be left to them.
At a ford near the river, a group of people were building rafts. Forty people could fit on one raft, and at least fifty rafts would be needed for two thousand people. Some women's rafts were also built specifically to transport goods.
The raft cannot be too big or too small. If it is too small, it cannot resist the undercurrent and waves in the water.
It's too big, and it's not easy to control in a river with a relatively high flow rate.
Zhao Xu also ordered people to build some small speedboats that could carry more than a dozen people. These boats were responsible for exploring the road ahead. If there was any danger, they could detect it in advance and reduce the losses of the fleet.
A total of more than a dozen barracks were built, and flues were left on the walls. The winter here is very cold, and the kang must be burned just like in the Far East.
If each house is laid on the ground floor, it can accommodate about twenty people. The extra houses can be temporarily occupied when people move here.
This should be enough. Zhao Xu thought in his mind that nothing seemed to be left behind.
Zhao Xu's mind was constantly calculating the functions that a stronghold should bear.
"Wang Li, help me think about what's missing?" Zhao Xu asked Wang Li who was following him.
"Uh... Captain Zhao, I think we need to get them something to entertain them. Or we can get them a Cuju stand in the open space in front of the dormitory." Wang Li said.
After all, he is a young man, and he thought of playing in this field as soon as he came up.
Don't tell me, it's really like this. There are so many people living here, and they are all men. We can't let them work every day.
After a long time, the body can handle it, but the mind cannot bear it.
So Zhao Xu ordered carpenters to help the left-behind people build a Cuju rack.
In the afternoon, Zhao Xu found the infantry platoon leader Gao Jun and the militia captain Ji Qiang who were left behind.
Gao Jun is nearly thirty years old and is indeed a veteran. He is a master sergeant and seems to have a quiet and taciturn character.
"Platoon Commander Gao, I leave the safety of the camp to you. This is not only a waterway and land transfer station, but also a retreat for our stronghold at Great Slave Lake. If possible, we must guard this place."
"In normal times, you are responsible for safety and security work. A squad of soldiers in your hands does not need to participate in labor, and you can concentrate on security work. Who knows how many unknown dangers there are in that forest."
"Yes, Captain Zhao, please rest assured. We will definitely guard this place." Gao Jun said with a military salute.
"If you really can't hold it, you can take a boat to find us downstream. This way we can know the danger in advance. As the president often says, the lives of soldiers are the most important."
"Yes, Captain Zhao, I understand."
Zhao Xu looked at another person. This was a young man with dark skin and a bald head.
This person's name is Ji Qiang, a militia member of the farm where Zhao Xu used to work, and a good farmer on the farm.
So Zhao Xu and Ji Qiang are much closer.
"Qiangzi, after we leave here, Platoon Commander Gao will be responsible for security and defense work. If there is danger, he has the right to command your militiamen to participate in the battle. You must obey Platoon Leader Gao's command unconditionally. You don't have many people, so you must defend yourself
Lord, if there are Indians coming to attack us, just fight them off and don't pursue them. If there is a dangerous situation, you can send someone downstream to notify us."
"Well, yes, Captain Zhao." Ji Qiang nodded his shiny bald head.
"We only have these two days to stay here, and we can't help you complete all the projects. There are many things that you need to complete slowly. But first, you must complete the soil layer in the middle of the wall, and secondly
It’s the reclamation of fields. There isn’t much land inside the fence, so you can open up some vegetable gardens.”
"You can burn the wasteland where the logging team has cleared the trees outside. Be careful not to set the forest on fire. Plant corn, potatoes and soybeans on the burned wasteland. You should be able to harvest food again.
Reserves are very important. We will not be able to get supplies from the rear for the time being. We must do everything we can to reserve food." Zhao Xu explained again.
Zhao Xu carried a lot of grain with him, but some of it was used for making seeds.
They tried not to touch this part of the food. Along the way, they sustained themselves most of the time by hunting wild animals and collecting mushrooms and berries.
Therefore, Ji Qiang's task is still relatively heavy. Helping Ji Qiang, an expert in growing grains, to place him in this place is also to enable him to turn this place into a grain supply station.
"Well, I understand, Captain Zhao. We will definitely grow food."
In fact, being able to grow food is the basic condition that determines whether a settlement can continue.
After all, eating is the most basic need for people's survival.
Zhao Xu seemed a little worried and gave instructions to the two of them in great detail.
Early in the morning, the hunting team went to explore the woods. Today they went further, not just to find prey.
At the same time, it is also to help the people left behind to detect possible dangers here.
"Xiang team, there seems to be an Indian village ahead." At this time, a hunting team member who was exploring the road in front ran back and said.
"Why is it an Indian again? Go call Bai Yu over and inform Squad Leader Li at the same time."
Bai Yu is one of the Indian guides.
Usually when the pioneer team encounters the Indians, they first ask the guide to communicate with them. If they are a friendly tribe, they will trade with them and establish relations with them.
In fact, if you encounter the kind of person who just thinks about it and takes action, then you can only beat him.
Squad Leader Li is the infantry squad leader who comes out with the hunting team to protect them. Although the hunting team also has weapons, it is still inferior to the regular army when it comes to fighting.
Soon the Indian guide Bai Yu, who was exchanged for a lighter, was brought over.
There are translators who can speak Indian in the pioneering team. Translators usually follow the team when they go out to explore.
After all, the chance of encountering an Indian tribe in a place like this is still very high.
"Bai Yu, go to the tribe in front and ask them if they are willing to trade with us. Bring these things with you." Xiang Rong took out a small bag of salt and a piece of silk from his waist.
These are the samples that the pioneering team carries with them when they go out on the move.
When they came out today, they originally wanted to explore possible Indian villages.
So Xiang Yong made some preparations here, including bringing trading samples, guides and translators.
Traveling all the way from the western coastline, over mountains and rivers, and through forests.
This was not the first time that the expedition team had contact with Indians.
So the Pioneers also accumulated some experience on how to deal with the Indians.
The translator explained Xiang Yong's words to Bai Yu and made gestures. Bai Yu slowly approached the tribe under the protection of several soldiers.
There should not be many people in this tribe, because Xiang Yong only saw a dozen houses. These houses were built using logs as supports and covered with thick cedar branches and leaves, and some were covered with animal skins.
These cedar branches and leaves are built layer by layer to the top, giving the entire small house a triangular structure.
This is a typical residence for Indians living in the forest.
Judging from the number of houses, there will be no more than a hundred Indians here, so it should not pose much danger to the transit station.
Bai Yu approached this small village and shouted a few times.
Fortunately, no bows and arrows were shot from the village.
An Indian leader with four feathers on his head came out.
Four feathers indicate that he has killed four enemies. However, some tribes count the killed beasts as one feather.
This leader looks very young, and it is very likely that he just founded this tribe.
The tribes in the forests of western Canada were even more backward than the Indians in the south.
They are still in their primitive tribal state.
Sometimes when there are too many people in the tribe, the local prey cannot support the tribe, and some people will be expelled from the tribe.
These people will become wandering hunters. Wandering hunters do not mean freedom.
They live alone in the forest, and their fault tolerance rate is very low. Only a few people can survive. They either starve to death or are killed by wild beasts, or they break into the territory of other tribes and are killed by others.
So these wandering Indians often unite to form small tribes.
These tribes usually choose the bravest hunters as their leaders. Therefore, their leaders are usually very young.
"Xiang Dui, they are the Grizzlies and are willing to trade with us. And they already know that we have established a camp by the river. They are willing to trade with us." After communicating for a long time, the translator finally came back.
Xiang Yong could see from a distance that Bai Yu was talking and gesticulating when communicating with the other party.
Apparently the languages of different Indian tribes vary.
The discovery of an Indian tribe here today is also a big gain. Not only can it provide a stronghold in the alley, but sometimes it can also absorb them.
These wandering tribes often seek refuge with larger forces when they can no longer survive.
Also, if a relatively large force suddenly arrives in this forest, these tribes can also provide early warning.
Xiang Yong did not take these people directly to the stronghold by the river.
Instead, he took the grizzly bear team on a hunt.
This is a way to show friendship and also a way to show force.
On the other side, the prospecting team went up the river and found a hill a few kilometers upstream. The hill was not high, but Liu Zhi could tell at a glance that this hill might be the source of the mineral.
Liu Zhi used the pickaxe in his hand to dig through the soil and peel off the upper rock.
Sure enough, brown iron ore was discovered.
"Hahaha, top quality iron ore." Liu Zhi laughed.
He picked up a piece of ore and looked at it carefully in the sunlight.
Without taking it for testing, he could tell that this was high-quality iron ore.
And if you remove the thin layer of sedimentary rock on top, there will be iron ore underneath, and open-pit mining is completely possible.
This is truly a treasure land!
By then, even if an iron smelting plant is not built here, iron ore can be easily transported along the river.
ps: It’s the last month of 2021. I started writing this book in March and have been with you for nearly a year. Over the past year, I have spent almost all my spare time on writing every day, and I have not stopped updating.
One day passed. Dugu really didn’t have any manuscripts in his hands. He relied on his sense of responsibility to the readers to persist in updating every day. I said at the beginning that the quality was not enough, so I had to make up for the quantity. After all, it was the first book. The problem
Very much. Fortunately, many readers can still tolerate Dugu. I would like to thank you for your support. If you have any opinions, please leave them in the comment area. Dugu will try his best to correct them.