Zhang Shixun waited until the discussion was almost over, then he asked with a smile, "Everyone must be wondering, where are the bricks going to come from when you ask us to build the city wall?"
The people in the audience nodded in unison.
Zhang Shixun pointed his hand toward the sky and said, "God has blessed us and sent us bricks."
Everyone looked up at the sky at the same time. Snowflakes were floating, and they didn't see anything else, so they looked at Zhang Shixun inquiringly.
"Heavens of snow fell, and the ice was three feet thick. Heaven had provided us with an inexhaustible supply of materials, saving us even the need for mud and mortar."
The quick-thinking people in the audience immediately understood.
"I understand. Master Zhang wants to use snow to build a city wall."
Zhang Shixun looked at the man and saw it was Yue Fan, so he gave him a thumbs-up. "You're really clever! You're using snow to build the city wall. However, snow alone isn't enough. You need to add water to it. Specifically, you need to pile up a layer of snow, then pour a layer of water on top. So, I don't need to tell you what to do next, right?"
Everyone suddenly realized and shouted:
“No need!”
"We all understand."
"This method is great."
"As expected of Master Zhang Tianshi, he can even think of this method."
…
Wang Dong walked to the front of the stage and loudly announced, "I declare that from now on, men, women, young and old, all will be mobilized. Those who can carry water will carry water, and those who can pile snow will pile snow. Let's strive to build a Great Wall of Ice and Snow in the shortest possible time."
There was jubilation in the audience.
The chiefs and deputy chiefs of each village gathered their people and began to assign tasks.
The construction of the Ice City officially began.
They acted immediately after the meeting. Zhang Shixun took action and brought Yue Fan and others to the gate of Gao Laozhuang to start building an ice wall.
Once he started working on it, he found that the problem was not as simple as he had imagined.
Snow in its natural form is soft, so if you want to build a wall with it, you must first compact it.
Zhang Shixun was worried about how to do it as he looked at the newly piled snow.
But someone had an idea. A farmer suggested, "Master Zhang, this is just like building a mud wall. We can use some wooden planks as barriers, fill the middle with snow, and tamp it down, building it up layer by layer."
Zhang Shixun said, "That's a good idea, but where are all these planks going to come from?"
Yue Fan said, "That's easy! Just take down the door panels from each household. They won't break down anyway, so we can put them back together after use."
Zhang Shixun's eyes lit up. "Good idea! Let's do it."
After finding a solution, the construction started quickly. When it was getting dark, an ice wall several dozen feet long and two feet high stood in front of Gao Village.
In order to repair the city wall as soon as possible, Wang Dong and Zhang Shixun discussed and decided to fight at night.
Wang Dong had several wooden poles erected and lights hung to illuminate the construction site brightly.
This made everyone present very surprised.
Since they didn't know what this high-tech thing was, they followed their inherent thinking and believed that it was a treasure - the Night Pearl - that Zhang Tianshi had obtained from the Heavenly Palace through his magical powers.
Zhang Shixun and Wang Dong did not explain, letting them think whatever they wanted.
One needs to eat to work, so Wang Dong had ten sheep slaughtered, and asked Zaohua to take a group of women to set up two large pots in front of the village gate, with the fire burning brightly, and start to stew mutton soup.
Piles of pot cakes were placed next to the mutton soup pot.
The young and strong men who were working smelled the fragrance and looked over here while working.
Seeing this, Yue Fan laughed and scolded, "Don't bother looking at me. Just focus on your work. Manor Master Wang has already said that he will cover all your meals for the next few days. Eat as much as you want."
A young farmer asked, "Boss, what does it mean to eat as much as you want?"
Yue Fan kicked him in the butt, "You thief! Eat as much as you want, as long as you're not afraid of dying of stuffiness, eat as much as you can."
The young and strong people cheered and worked even harder.
Strength lies in numbers. In just five days, Gao Laozhuang and Zhang Xiaozhuang were surrounded by a tall ice wall...
Zhang Shixun stood on the newly built Ice City, patted the iron-hard walls, and couldn't help but sigh: "Man can conquer nature. There is nothing in this world that cannot be done, only things that cannot be imagined."
Wang Dong said, "Although the main wall has been built, there is still a lot of work to do. The wall is too slippery, so we need to lay grass on it to prevent slipping. It needs to be strong enough for people to stand on."
Zhang Shixun nodded. "I've already sent someone to do it. Also, I've instructed Yue Fan to build some more ice houses so the farmhands have a place to rest."
"Yeah! Let's build it the Inuit way and put a small stove inside."
Zhang Shixun frowned and said, "If I remember correctly, the Inuit live in the Arctic, right?"
"Yes."
"The temperature in the Arctic is low, so you can make a fire inside an igloo, but will it be...?"
Wang Dong waved his hand and said, "We'll know if we can make a fire by trying it."
Zhang Shixun looked up at the sky and said, "This snow is falling endlessly. I don't know when it will stop."
"It's best not to listen." Wang Dong held out his palm, looked at the snowflakes falling on it, and said, "According to historical records, the weather during the Jingkang period was abnormal, with heavy snow, swirling winds, and extremely cold weather. When the Jin army approached the city, the snow had been heavy for over 20 days."
"If it's true as recorded in history, our ice and snow walls will be enough to keep us going."
"Yes." Wang Dong nodded. "But don't be careless. The Jurchens have lived in a cold and harsh place for a long time and have long adapted to this kind of weather. Their combat effectiveness shouldn't be greatly affected."
"Yes! To ensure that everything goes smoothly, I ordered He Ji yesterday to withdraw 500 men from the Taihang Mountain National Defense Army to support us."
When Wang Dong heard this, he clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "With this reinforcement, we will be more confident in holding on."
As he was speaking, Yue Fan came over and reported, "Master Zhang, a man named He Ji has arrived, and he's brought a lot of people with him."
"Oh! So fast? Where is the person?" Zhang Shixun was quite surprised.
"They're already outside the walls of Zhang Xiaozhuang. I don't dare let them in without your order."
Zhang Shixun turned to Wang Dong and said, "Speaking of Cao Cao, here comes Cao Cao. Let's go and fetch this loyal descendant."
Wang Dong waved his hand and said, "I won't go. There are still many things waiting to be done here."
"Alright! It's up to you."
Zhang Shixun rode his horse to Zhang Xiaozhuang and saw from afar a team standing in a line outside the village, as solid as copper or iron, motionless.
When Zhang Shixun approached, He Ji saluted with a standard military salute, "Military Commander, He Ji is here to report."
Zhang Shixun dismounted and saluted in return, "Commander He, thank you for your hard work."
“It’s not hard.”
For more than half a year, apart from sending small units to harass the Jin army, the main forces of the National Protection Army were training in the Taihang Mountains.
The organization was also completely in line with that of later generations. He Ji was temporarily appointed as the army commander, and Li Moulue was the deputy army commander and chief of staff.
Zhang Shixun looked at He Ji and saw that he had obviously lost weight, with a firmer and more mature facial feature.
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