Arold looked at the forest in front of him, a river crossed it, and the river crashed into a fertile triangle, this is the location that Arold finally chose from the simple map provided by Jeff, the river provided a natural moat, and the fertile delta could grow crops, yes, he did not intend to attack the fortified and heavily guarded capital castle of Mecklenburg County in the first place.

"Lord Arrod, I don't understand why we don't camp in a place where there is a quarry, if you want to establish a stronghold, wouldn't it be more convenient to get it close to the quarry?" Julian asked Arold puzzled, he also saw that Arold was planning to fight for a long time, but to build a strong stronghold, it is usually best to build a place close to the stone yard, so that it is easy to obtain the stone, and there are good stonemasons among the monks, otherwise the many stone buildings of the monastery cannot be completed by outsiders.

"No, my stronghold does not need to use stone, and there is no water source and fertile land near the stone field, which is not suitable for us to live in, and besides, the stone field is an area of great concern for the pagan West Slavs, and if we are stationed there, it will definitely attract their attention, and we cannot expose ourselves too soon." Arold has his own plans, he has been preparing for this for a long time, and even secretly has a proud sense of superiority in his heart, who said that castles can only be built of stone, and without stones, you can't build a castle that can discourage the enemy?

"What are your plans?" Julian looked at Arrod suspiciously, thinking that this count was not going to build a wooden stockade, and sharpened four pieces of wood to form a bunch. Inserted into the ground and connected to form a wooden wall, this kind of wooden fortification is very weak, and even if it is not attacked by the enemy, it will be damaged after several years of wind and rain, and the nobles with a little money and manpower do not like to use this simple wooden village.

"After a short break, I ordered everyone to start digging trenches, unloading the timber planks from the caravan, and getting to work." Arold commanded his men to dig a trench in the delta, digging the trench to extract the dirt inside, and Arold also ordered the collection of pebbles from the river, both of which were very easy to take. Because it's full of fist-sized pebbles.

Arold had the serfs arrange the planks in two rows at a certain distance. Wooden posts were laid between the planks, rows of wooden posts were tied with linen ropes, and after ordering others to throw dirt and pebbles into the space formed between the two rows of planks, the repetition of sections was filled with planks and earth pebbles. Then the rest of the people were tamped with heavy loads and feet. Formation of earthen walls 10-20 cm thick. Layer by layer, the walls are raised in the same way.

In order to speed up the progress, Arold also divided the construction personnel into three groups and carried out the construction in three directions at the same time. And to give incentives to who can complete the progress faster and better, and to reward the group with double portions of food, this made the enthusiasm of the construction people soar, and this alluvial delta, which was quiet not long ago, became a hot construction site, and as the days passed, the walls built from the three directions of sectional construction gradually closed, and the height of the walls was already the height of three adults.

"Lord Arrod, I have never seen such a strange method of building a city?" Julian looked up at the outside was a wooden plank, but inside was a mixed wall of tamped earth and cobblestones, he hit the wall with his fist, and felt that it was strong and impenetrable, definitely no worse than the walls of stone buildings, and the advantages of the walls of stone buildings were also obvious, the materials were simple and practical, and there was no need for a large number of stonemasons to dig the stone yard.

"It's called the slab building method." Arold said proudly, this is the city building method of the people who are good at defense from the far east, but they use the loess on the Loess Plateau, and Arold himself uses damp soil and pebbles according to local conditions, but it doesn't seem to be bad now.

"Gao Ming, my lord, is really very clever." Julian congratulated Arrod happily.

The construction of the castle was extremely fast, and soon it took less than a month for Arold and his men to build the outer wall of the castle of more than 500 square meters, in order to prevent the West Slavs from discovering and attacking themselves, Arold did not first build the main building, but built the wall, and a few corners of the city wall also set up simple wooden arrow towers, on which the archers were on guard at any time, until this time Arold did not put down his hanging heart, he introduced the water of the river into the outer ditch, forming a moat, If the enemy wants to attack, he must first think about how to solve the problem of the moat, and only then can it be said that Arrod's castle is impregnable.

After the walls were erected, Arold began to think about the construction of the main building and storehouse, as well as various other supporting facilities, where the soldiers and peasants lived, and the soldiers should not always be allowed to sleep in tents, as the night dew would erode their health. Fortunately there is a dense forest here, and there are enough trees to build their buildings, Arold specially sent some serfs to become lumberjacks, bringing wood into the city every day, the sound of logging and shouting became the rhythm of the daily sound, the main building was designed by the monks of the Abbey of St. Fonso, who built Arrod's house in the Saxon style according to the architectural style commonly used by the nobles of the Middle Ages, and in the center of the hall at the entrance was a recess where a bonfire could be placed, The flames in the recesses can cook food and keep the hall warm, the hall is where the lord receives his people and entertains guests, the left and right corners follow the wooden ladder to go up to the second floor, the second floor is where the lord and his family live, the top floor is built like a battlement, the archers can hide on it to shoot the invading enemy, and the Saxon house is a building that combines residence and defense.

"Build a longhouse here, yes, a longhouse that the soldiers could share, just like the Vikings did. Here, we can build stables later, and the blacksmith shop will be set aside for me near the current, and I will use it later. Arold said to the monk beside him as he walked, his mind had already begun to build the subtle building locations in the entire castle, like drawing a blueprint in the computer first, and then filling it in little by little, the nobles of the Middle Ages often only built the main facilities first because of financial reasons, and then remembered what was added close to the main building, but Arold was not used to this, he left blank where it should be, and did not allow other things to occupy.

"Lord Arrod, what is this building for?" The monk looked curiously at the blueprint that Arold had handed him, a separate house, close to the city gate, away from the other buildings.

"This is a public toilet, and in the future, everyone's excrement must be here, and I will arrange for someone to take care of the excrement."

"But we're all working on it." The monk asked, puzzled.

"No, in the future everyone must be excreted here, so that it is not only clean and hygienic, but also that the manure can be poured into the farmland outside the castle to make the land fertile." Disgusted by the fact that his castle was littered with defecation for several days, Arold decided to start making a decree that everyone was to follow, following the practice of the nobles of the Middle Ages.

"You have the final say, Lord Count." When the castle was built, everyone was amazed at the great work they had accomplished, and they admired Arrod, who had drawn the blueprint, and they knew that through this castle, Arold had been able to control the land around the castle firmly, so Arold's prestige had increased a lot, and he was no longer the shameful landless earl.

"Lord Arrod, you are already an earl who owns a castle, have you thought of the name of this castle?" Johnberg looked at the spirited Arold and proposed to the young earl, and his proposal was approved by all.

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet, what do you suggest?" Arrod thought for a moment and said to everyone.

"Shall I call it Fort Arrod?"

"No, it's too straightforward, let's call it Brook Castle, it's closer to our location."

"I think it's simply called Fort Brave or Fort Valiant."

Everyone expressed their opinions, they talked excitedly, everyone had a sense of pride in participating in the construction of a castle, Arold smiled and looked at the people who were not involved, but his mind was thinking about how to have a loud name, in line with the first castle he came to this world, he raised his head just in time to see the flag planted above his main building, the black lion fluttering in the wind, seeing here he had an idea.

"Everyone, be quiet, listen to me, and I propose that this castle, which we have all worked hard to build, be called the Angry Lion Castle." Arold stretched out his arm and shouted to the crowd.

"Lion Castle?" There was a lot of talk among the people, and they were speculating about Arrod's intentions.

"We are the lion that roars at the infidels, and let the infidels tremble under our claws." In a high voice, Arold swore an oath to his men.

"Yes, Angry Lion Castle, Angry Lion Castle~~~." The crowd shouted excitedly, and they felt as if courage had blown into their chests, and even if the pagan Slavs attacked immediately, they would be able to keep them coming and going.

After naming the castle, it was a celebratory feast, and after Arold had left enough sentinels on the city walls, everyone enjoyed the food and malt wine in the lord's hall, and the people felt warm and happy in the flames, and the dancers danced to the beat of clapping hands. (To be continued......)

PS: Sorry everyone, it's so late