For the next two weeks, in addition to supervising the construction here, Lü Tu also rode his horse around to patrol the area and drew up a topographical map of the surrounding 50 li.

In the past two weeks, the fortifications have been fully completed, including the thatched huts used for night watch, located one mile away.

After completing these tasks, Lü Tu ordered Nie Yun and the Sun brothers to remain stationed here permanently.

The villagers had never had such a good job before. Not only were they paid with grain every day, but the grain was also of good quality and contained no sand.

Now that the construction is complete, the villagers can't help but feel a little worried.

"Old Li, why are you working so hard? Why not slack off and work a few more days? Do you think the foreman will still pay us after this is all done?"

"You're ugly but you have big dreams. If we don't work, why should the foreman pay us?"

"That's what I mean. I have two boys at home who have big appetites. If there's no food to bring home every day, how will we have enough to eat? Sigh."

"Don't worry so much. It's better to go hungry than to be killed by the Wuhuan people. Haven't you heard that all the food we have is bought with the chief's own money?"

"I thought it was issued from above! That makes sense."

The conversation between the two was almost a microcosm of the entire village's construction team. Lu Tu certainly knew what everyone was thinking, but he didn't intend to let these guys have any free time.

Through the past two weeks of contact, Lü Tu has come to understand the complexity of Wuchuan. It is said that the people are fierce, but in reality, it is because the area is short of resources, the land is barren, and there is not enough food to feed so many people.

Unfortunately, the constant warfare, coupled with rampant corruption among the border troops who exploited the people at every level, led to a decline in moral restraint among the local population.

After all, when people can't even get enough to eat, who cares about morality?

However, Lu Tu also discovered the strengths of the people of Wuchuan: regardless of age or gender, they possessed an extremely resilient character. As long as they were given enough food, they were truly remarkable in their ability to endure hardship.

Especially the men of Wuchuan, it would be a real waste not to train such men properly.

Around noon, Liu Yang and his men arrived with a cart to deliver lunch. While everyone was eating, Lü Tu clapped his hands and announced loudly, "Everyone, please eat first. I'll say a few words."

Upon hearing this, everyone put down their cornbread and looked at Lü Tu with curiosity.

"Our fortifications will be completed today, and from now on, only five soldiers will remain here permanently."

Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but sigh. The good days were indeed coming to an end, and they would have to think of other ways to make a living. But now that the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, what could be better than working here?

Not only did they receive a pound of millet every day, but they also received two meals a day. Although the meals consisted of cornbread, there was no limit to the amount of cornbread, and everyone could eat as much as they wanted. For the villagers who were used to being hungry, this was like a paradise. Moreover, Lu Tu never withheld the workers' wages; as long as they weren't deliberately being lazy, he would always pay them.

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Lu Tu smiled and said, "After this fortification is completed, don't leave. Stay here and continue working. I will still pay you!"

The villagers, forgetting all about stuffing their cornbread into their mouths, jumped up in joyful excitement.

"Our leader is so good to us! You are our provider!"

"As long as I follow the captain, I'm willing to do anything he asks me to do. Let alone just digging fortifications, I'd even go into battle to kill the Wuhuan people!"

Only Liu Yang beside him seemed hesitant to speak. Lü Tu continued, "Later, half of you will go to the woods to the west to cut down trees, while the other half will take pickaxes to repair the road!"

"Build roads?" They certainly had no objection to logging; timber was the most commonly used material in daily life, so the more the better. But building roads was something they had never heard of before.

You should know that the official road in Wuchuan today was built by the founding emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty more than a hundred years ago, and there has never been any talk of repairing the road in the past hundred years.

In most people's minds, roads don't need repair; they just become roads as more people walk on them.

Lu Tu noticed their confusion but was too lazy to explain. He shouted, "Dig out four flat axles according to the width of our carts! Make sure the carts can pass smoothly and quickly between Kuishan Village and Songshan Village! Understand?"

Among the people present, a few clever ones immediately slapped their thighs in sudden realization: "Brilliant! The squad leader's idea is brilliant! This will make transporting goods between the two villages much more convenient."

The people around him looked at him like he was an idiot: "What's so great about a cart passing by? It's not like it'll grow crops."

After giving his instructions, Lü Tu walked to the side and called Liu Yang over: "What were you about to say to me?"

Liu Yang hesitated for a long time before finally mustering up the courage to speak: "Brother Lü, we don't have much grain left in our warehouse. My wife has already given me 100 taels of silver to buy more grain. We only have enough grain for three more days at most."

Lu Tu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about the money. Someone will bring us the money soon."

"Who is it?" Liu Yang asked blankly.

Following Lü Tu's gaze, he looked at the excavated fortifications. Although he agreed with Lü Tu's idea, the earthen Great Wall built by Wuchuan had failed to stop the Wuhuan people. This trench was just an enhanced trap, and it wouldn't kill many Wuhuan people. However, he only dared to think this in his heart and did not dare to say it out loud.

Lu Tu's words were not unfounded. He estimated that a month had passed since the winter solstice, and as the saying goes, "the third and fourth nine-day periods of winter are so cold that even an old dog can freeze to death."

The people of Wuchuan had little food to eat, and the Wuhuan people, living in the desolate northern desert, should have run out of food long ago. During this time, he occasionally went to the teahouses in Wuchuan City to inquire about news.

They learned that other villages had been harassed by the Wuhuan to varying degrees, but had all been repelled by the border troops due to their numerical superiority.

However, no Wuhuan people came to Kuishan Village and Songshan Village. Presumably, Lu Tu had repelled two waves of Wuhuan people in succession, which made them somewhat wary.

However, given the Karasuma people's vengeful nature, they would never let them off easily, and by now the two villages were probably already hated by the Karasuma people.

The calmer things are right now, the more careful we need to be, as the Wuhuan people's next move may involve a large number of people.

Over the next two days, Lü Tu directed the villagers to build a simple rammed earth device with stones to compact and level the ground. They also constructed training equipment such as parallel bars, horizontal bars, and a shooting range, all in accordance with modern facility standards.

The extra wood was used to build seven or eight new wooden houses for the guards to live in.

The villagers were dizzy looking at these gaudy and strangely shaped things, and had no idea why Lu Tu had asked them to build them.

Lu Tu noticed their doubts and summoned everyone, asking, "Does any of you want to join the army?"

The villagers said one after another, "We won't join the frontier army, but if it's under the command of the bandit leader, we're willing!"