Chongyang in September, at noon, the wharf on the south bank of the Yellow River in the north of Gaotang City.

The fiery autumn sun hung high in the sky, and the blazing air flow mixed with the dust in the sky shrouded the thousands of soldiers and people who built the new wharf, and under the scorching sun, everyone's clothes were wet and dry, dry and wet, and they still kept working hard according to the progress requirements.

Several sharp copper whistles sounded, and thousands of exhausted soldiers and civilians cheered in unison, and they all put down their tools and rushed to the rows of straw huts above the dock, not bothering to wipe the dirt on their faces, one after another lined up in a dozen long lines, and their hungry and excited eyes were all looking in the same direction—the white flour buns and barrels of fragrant broth piled up high in the straw sheds.

Between the two rows of grass sheds, there is a low gentle soil slope with a radius of 100 steps, there is a big tree that has grown for hundreds of years on the soil slope, and there is a house built of wooden planks and thatch under the tree, which is the official house of Liu Bei, the governor of Gaotang County, who is responsible for managing the construction of the wharf by the people.

Liu Bei, who had just returned to the wooden house, sat on a low bench facing the river, exhaled a long breath of hot air, glanced at the happy people who had taken the white bread and broth around the grass shed below, shook his head tiredly, and began to wipe the dust stained by the exquisite armor on his body.

Half a month ago, the Qingzhou Assassin Mansion joined the army Yamen to Gaotang County issued three sets of captain-level armor and five hundred sets of standard leather armor equipped with Langya foot soldiers, Captain Liu Bei got the special armor of the commander and loved it, and immediately sent the remaining two sets of captain's armor to the second brother Guan Yu and the third brother Zhang Fei who served as the lieutenant, and the three of them happily put on it soon and were surprised to find that the armor on the body was not inferior to the armor worth 100 gold on the infantry captain of the Langya Army, and it was very fitting, as if it was tailor-made.

Liu Bei vaguely thought of something in his mind, but he always couldn't grasp it, so he simply didn't want to think about it, and directly put the armor that belonged to him on his body, and no matter how hot the weather was, Liu Bei wore this set of exquisite armor weighing forty-five catties in public.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei supervised the work on the dock all day long, and the heat was unbearable, so neither of them wore them, and they didn't need them to go to the battlefield, so they persuaded Liu Bei to take off his heavy armor and change into an ordinary military attache uniform, otherwise he would have to cover the prickly heat.

Liu Bei not only did not take it off, but solemnly warned the two righteous brothers: "Look at the Langya officers and soldiers on the dock and on the ship, when have you seen them in untidy armor and slack?" This is military discipline and majesty! The two of you often praise the Langya Army for its well-trained and strong combat strength, but do you know why the Langya Army is so strong? It is because they strictly abide by an iron law set in the early days of the founding of the army: the dignity of soldiers must not be forgotten at any time! ”

At this moment, Liu Bei was still meticulously wiping the dust on his armor, nodding to Guan Yu, who brought the food, and Zhang Fei, who brought a big wooden box, and asked as he did it: "What kind of food do the people have today?" ”

Guan Yu put the big tray containing six white flour buns and three bowls of broth on the box: "It's the same as what we eat, two big white membranes per person, a bowl of broth, the taste is very good, Langya snow salt is added casually, and the people are very satisfied." ”

Zhang Fei was already sitting on the small wooden box on the side: "Yes! The people all said that it was tiring to work for the Langya army, and they were never beaten and scolded, they ate well and their wages were paid, and they all hoped that they could do something else after finishing this wharf, and it was best to build a strong city within a radius of ten miles for our Gaotang County like the plain city on the north bank, so that everyone would not have to worry about running out of food. ”

Guan Yu shook his head: "Gaotang is different from the plain, the plain is the north gate of Qingzhou, hanging alone on the north bank of the river, like a horn deep into Jizhou, the location is very important, so the Lord Thorn will mobilize thousands of skilled craftsmen, use all kinds of the best materials, and build the plain city into a rare strong city in the world. ”

"That's right!"

Liu Bei patted the dust on his hands and took the white film handed by Guan Yu: "Think about the north and south wharves built at the same time, as well as the 300-mile wide official road that extends from the south of the plain city to the mouth of the sea along the big river, Lord Liu Zijian spares no expense!" What is this huge investment for? Isn't it to completely put the Plains County north of the Great River under its control? As long as Pingyuan County is controlled, the entire Jizhou and even Youzhou in the north are within Qingzhou's field of vision. ”

Zhang Fei put down and drank half a bowl of broth, wiped his mouth and pointed forward and slowly sailed to several Langya Army transport ships at the old dock in front: "Big brother, don't talk about Jizhou Youzhou, if there is a ship like Langya Army, even Luoyang can go!" I really obeyed this Liu Zijian, how could he build a big boat that could sail against the current without slurry or sails, and only a dozen people could sit on the bilge and step on it? How did his little brain grow? ”

"Third brother, Hugh is talking nonsense, you have to respect Lord Liu, he is a benevolent person, he has won the hearts of the people, and the foolish brother has always admired him very much." Liu Bei admonished in a low voice.

Guan Yu said with a smile: "Third brother, that kind of boat is called a paddle wheel, which relies on the two paddling wooden wheels in the middle of the two sides to promote, which is similar to the waterwheel, the difference is that the paddle wheel is driven by foot force. We didn't have a chance to go down to the bottom cabin to see it, but a few masters in the county who were proficient in the organs saw that the reason why they couldn't be imitated was because except for the ironwork workshop in Langya Zhushan, no one in the world could make a bearing and a long shaft that drove two huge water wheels, and what else was it called...... It seems to be a large and small cast steel gear that transmits the power of the feet, without these things, no one can make a fast paddle wheel, even if the gourd is painted in the same way, it will not be used, and the frame will fall apart in a few days. ”

Zhang Fei just wanted to say something, but when he saw Liu Bei suddenly stand up, staring nervously at the dock, he immediately turned around and looked out, and quickly shouted: "Why is Lord Liu here?" ”

Guan Yu immediately cleaned up the table: "Third brother, don't call it, it seems that Lord Liu is coming to our place." ”

Liu Bei had already strode into the inner room, quickly combed his hair, tied a black cloth towel and came out, and whispered to the two righteous brothers to welcome them out together, and bowed to Liu Cun who strode up from a distance: "I don't know if the adults are coming, please forgive Liu Bei for his sin of contempt!" ”

"Brother Xuande works day and night on the dock, eating, sleeping and sweating with the army and civilians, such an honest and diligent parent official, how many people can there be in the world?"

Liu Cunren didn't hear the voice, and Liu Bei's face was full of gratitude, which also made Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were standing behind Liu Bei bow and saluted, felt warm in their hearts.

Liu Cun came to Liu Bei and returned the salute: "Compared with Brother Xuande, Liu Cun is ashamed!" ”

Liu Bei hurriedly returned the salute: "My lord's words are serious, my lord bears the trust of the people of Qingzhou, and he works hard to manage all opportunities, not only by the people of the world, but also by our model!" ”

Liu Cun smiled, turned to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and bowed: "Brother Yun and Brother Yide haven't eaten yet, right?" ”

Guan Yu just wanted to say a few polite words, but Zhang Fei had already cracked his mouth and smiled: "I'm eating you, I'm still eating you, so I still haven't drunk half a bowl of broth." ”

"Third brother, don't talk nonsense!" Liu Bei scolded in a low voice.

Liu Cun laughed: "Yide is fast and fast, haha!" I rushed over from the east in the morning, and I didn't eat, so let's eat together, and I happened to ask Brother Xuande's opinion about something. ”

Liu Bei was shocked, and hurriedly invited Liu Cun into the wooden plank room.

Liu Cun waved his hand to let the guards go to dinner, introduced Tai Shici and Zhang He behind him to Liu Bei and the three, and greeted each other for a while before sitting down, and the guards had already brought a large tray, and the things on it were no different from what Liu Bei and the three of them enjoyed before.

"Lord Liu, are you going to eat this?" Zhang Fei was very surprised and couldn't help but ask loudly.

Liu Cun hasn't answered yet, Tai Shici has already spoken: "This white-flour bun, as well as the broth, is already good, in the past three months, my lord came and went to the battlefields in the north and south, often not even taking care of eating, in July, when the war was the tightest, my lord led my Langya cavalry to repeatedly raid the anti-thief camp, and two meals of dry food were eaten on horseback every day. In peacetime, whether in the army or in various places, my lord has what to eat like all the soldiers, and if you have the opportunity to ask my sergeants, or go to Chengyang County one day, you will know how my lord is. ”

Liu Bei hurriedly played a round game: "Ladies and gentlemen, don't take it to heart, Yide is straightforward and fast, and he doesn't mean anything else." ”

Liu Cun smiled and said: "Brother Xuande doesn't need to be so polite, just a question, what's so strange?" If you can't even stand a real question from your brothers in the army, how can you face the thousands of fathers and villagers under your rule? The elders and villagers are suffering deeply, and they want to ask more things in their hearts, and I Liu Cun can't wait for more people to ask me such and such questions, and ask me when their suffering will end, only in this way can it be said that the hearts of my Han people are not dead, and they still have hope for the court and the country. ”

Liu Bei was extremely moved, and immediately got up and gave a deep salute, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were also inexplicably moved, followed Liu Bei to stand up, and gave Liu Cunshen a salute with pleasure and sincerity.

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