With Xiangzhou City as its backbone, a defensive system stretching over twenty miles in depth has begun to take shape.
This was no longer a simple camp, but the first fangs of a behemoth that was about to devour flesh and blood.
Yang Yan walked along the edge of the newly completed main trench, escorted by a group of heavily armored soldiers.
The trench was over 15 feet deep and nearly 20 feet wide. The bottom of the trench was densely packed with sharpened, fire-hardened, thick bamboo and wood, like the interlocking teeth of a giant beast, gleaming with a cold, eerie light.
Deeper inside, there were also iron-cast four-cornered caltrops scattered everywhere; anyone who fell in would either die or be maimed.
The earthy smell mixed with the sour odor of the soldiers' sweat permeated the cold air.
He stopped, bent down, grabbed a handful of soil from the edge of the moat, and twirled it between his fingers.
The soil was frozen solid, covered with ice crystals.
"When the soil is frozen, water it appropriately during the tamping process, and sprinkle an extra layer of straw to prevent freezing."
Without turning his head, he spoke to the engineer battalion commander who was following closely behind him, his voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable authority.
The steward immediately bowed and wrote it down, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.
They climbed onto a newly built fortification. The walls were made of rammed earth mixed with grass stems and gravel, rough in appearance but exceptionally thick.
On the top of the wall, newly felled logs were piled up like a small mountain and secured with thick ropes;
In large cauldrons, foul-smelling "golden juice" was being simmered, emitting nauseating yellowish-green smoke;
Under the officers' orders, the soldiers hurriedly and heavily carried bundles of arrows and stones to their designated locations.
Yang Yan reached out and touched a fresh arrow hole in the wall, then tested the lever mechanism for placing the wooden wrench to see if it worked smoothly.
His movements were slow and meticulous, as if he were caressing a precious work of art.
The accompanying generals held their breath, their eyes following his hand movements; the atmosphere was as oppressive as the leaden sky.
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