Early the next morning

As soon as the sky was dark, Chinese from five nearby Chinese villages gathered one after another, and soon the scale reached more than 700 people, and this number is still growing.

Before the start of construction

According to the traditional customs of China, Richard led the crowd to set up an incense table, on which the three animals of pigs, cattle and sheep were displayed, lighting incense, praying to heaven and earth, and praying for the blessing of the ancestors and gods.

After leading the crowd to worship

Richard turned around and looked at the dense crowd of thousands of people behind him, all of whom had excited looks on their faces, and their hearts were warm, so he waved his hand and shouted;

"Shanhaiguan...... Commencement ......"

The bright light of the early morning with the cold of spring reflected on the faces of every Chinese, and could not hide the fiery look on everyone's faces, and after hearing Richard announce the start of construction, the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers that resounded through the valley.

As per prior arrangement

According to the different tools they carried, half of them were divided into logging groups, branching groups, blacksaw groups, transportation groups, houses, etc., and the remaining half were responsible for leveling the site, digging trenches, and building wooden fences.

Unlike the construction of a defensive breastwork, which is only 1 meter 4 high, the Shanhaiguan is 4 meters above the ground and uses straight and tall Sequoia trees.

After the branches are removed, the sharpened ends are buried deep in the soil and are closely arranged.

Shanhaiguan is located on the outside of the Gukou hill, it is necessary to build a section of about 170 meters long wall, the gate and Diaodou, close the entire passage into the valley, until reaching the bank of the Yudai River, and go deep into the river for about 10 meters.

In this way, the Datang Society relied on the Shanhaiguan Wall, and established perfect defense facilities at the mouth of the Grape Valley.

I have to say

In the end, there are many people and great strength, and by noon, the leveled field was already full of logs like hills, and a rough count showed that there were at least three or four hundred.

On the other side of the construction site, a 4-meter-high log fence has been erected more than 30 meters long, and the rear is covered with crossbars and support logs, and the patrol trail on the wall has also begun to be built.

This is a wooden plank road only one meter wide, for patrol soldiers to patrol back and forth, if there is a foreign enemy, can rely on the wall to cover the battle, similar to the Roman wooden city thousands of years ago.

When the white people first set foot on the North American continent, many of these rudimentary wooden fence walls were built, which had the advantage of being simple and easy to build, and the defense was acceptable.

The disadvantage is that it is difficult to stand the test of time, it is not resistant to fire attacks, and it cannot withstand continuous attacks from large-caliber artillery, which can only be used as an expedient measure.

Even so, it's already pretty good.

Richard led a cavalry of more than 20 men to patrol the vicinity, reaching as far as the outskirts of the new town, and under the wary gaze of Sheriff John and others, he made a few circles and returned.

This time

He only needs to show the power of the Tang Society, presumably those ill-intentioned people in Xinshi Town will weigh it carefully, and it is not appropriate to stimulate the sensitive nerves of the other party too much.

It's close to noon

The camp site is full of busy figures, on the cleared field, there are more than ten cauldrons side by side, firewood is burning, and the soup in the steamer is boiling endlessly.

This is a cow killed in the morning, a big fat pig and two sheep, which have turned into a tumbling beef and potato soup, mutton and potato soup, and the working men come to eat a bowl when they are hungry, and continue to work as soon as the rice bowl is lost.

When Gaiwang saw the return of the horse team from a distance, he greeted him with great hospitality; "Young master, you're tired, it's just a big pot of mutton soup cooked, eat some to cushion your stomach."

Richard touched his stomach and smiled, then turned back to greet everyone; "Don't say you're really hungry, so the brethren will rest and wait for their horses and come over to eat."

"Obey!" The crowd responded.

For the cavalry of the horse team, the war horse is not only a mount, but also a weapon, but also a life and death partner on the galloping field, and its importance is ranked first at all times.

It doesn't matter if people are hungry, they must take care of the war horses first.

He led the war horse to the river to drink some water, ate some black beans carried in the horse bag, and let it gnaw on the tender grass on the riverbank, leaving the two men to take care of it, and the others came in the direction of the house.

The rich aroma of the boiled broth has long hooked the gluttonous worms in everyone's stomach, where can you still endure it?

A large bowl of potato and beef soup, sprinkled with chopped wild onions, salt and pepper, immediately has a soul, it is really fragrant, and it makes people's appetite move.

Richard was the same as everyone else, except that his bowl was filled with large pieces of lamb, which were more flavorful when eaten with flatbread.

The Chinese diet has always maintained its traditional characteristics, which is very different from the white people.

White gold prospectors most commonly ate hard cakes and dried apples, which are square-shaped dough cakes that are baked with water and flour and a little salt without fermentation.

Hard cakes and dried apples are easy to carry, simple to make and can be left for a long time, but the taste is not flattering, and it is very tooth-consuming, and it tastes like gnawing wood crumbs.

There is also a slightly better food called potato sourdough bread, which is made by fermenting and baking flour and water, as well as mashed potatoes with wild yeast.

If poppy seeds are added, it is called poppy seed potato bread, which is a popular specialty of San Francisco, and it is roasted with a fluffy and delicious flavor.

The family bread workshop, run by French military instructor Mike Rabiot, is famous for its poppy-seeded potato bread, which is popular with the white residents of Yerba Buena and does quite well.

But these foods are obviously not in line with the appetite of the Chinese.

Richard went to eat a large bowl of mutton soup with fluffy flatbread, and felt unsatisfied, so he went to fill half a bowl of mutton soup, and ate it in a hurry, feeling very warm and comfortable.

He stood up with a pat on his round belly, couldn't help but burp twice, and said to Gaiwangshan next to him with satisfaction;

"Wangshan, the taste of this mutton soup is really good, very delicious, I think you can open a restaurant, specializing in beef and mutton soup, the business must be hot."

"Thank you young master for the compliment, in fact, this thing doesn't have anything to say, it's just a good cooking and some poppy seeds, my old guy is more willing to follow the young master to do things, how majestic it is!"

"Oh, that's okay......" Richard was speechless when he heard that this was the reason.

He nodded, took his cowboy hat and put it on his head, and walked forward, continuing; "You keep busy, I'll go to the construction site above."

"Whoa...... Young master, walk slowly. Gai Wangshan responded courteously.

Richard waved his hand and walked up the hill without saying a word.

The Shanhaiguan site is divided into two parts, one is to build a wooden fence wall about 170 meters long, and the other is to build a barracks located at the top of the rear hill, including wooden houses, fences and so on.

To build a wooden fence wall, you can use freshly cut logs, which do not need to be dried naturally, and the branches can be cleaned.

However, it is not possible to build a wooden house, you need a lot of baked wooden boards, wooden squares and natural shaded logs, and logs are mainly used for important parts such as house beams, and the amount used is not much.

The grape valley is rich in wild woods, and there are many logs in the village, which is enough to build dozens of wooden houses, and now all of them have been transported.

As soon as Richard reached the top of the hill, he jerked his head back and looked into the distance, and saw a group of five horsemen approaching rapidly from the direction of the new town.

Take a closer look

He couldn't help but stop, his face became solemn, and one hand was naturally resting on the revolver musket at his waist......