In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

A simple but clear floor plan appeared before everyone.

"At the mouth of the valley, we will build a barbican. It will have two gates and a main wall. The wall will be built with a stone foundation and rammed earth, with a thickness of no less than two zhang and a height of no less than three zhang."

"The walls must be built with crenellations and parapets, and loopholes and observation posts must be provided. The city gates must be covered with iron sheets and have double bolts at the back."

hiss!

Chu Wu and his soldiers gasped in shock.

Two zhang thick and three zhang high? What does that even mean? It's even more exaggerated than the city walls of a county town!

This isn't building a manor; it's clearly building a military fortress!

"Brother Qin... this... how much manpower and resources will this take?" a soldier stammered.

"So, this is just the first step." Qin Shaolang ignored their shock and continued drawing on the ground.

"Beyond the barbican lies our living area. All the houses are uniformly planned and built against the mountain, arranged in a terraced pattern. This maximizes the use of space, and the houses on higher ground can provide fire support to those on lower ground."

"Water is our lifeline. The stream must flow through the village and a sewage outlet must be set up downstream. At the same time, we must dig at least three backup wells inside the mountain to prevent the water supply from being cut off or poisoned by the enemy."

"There's also the issue of defensive depth. Traps, trenches, and hidden sentries must be set up in the mountains and forests surrounding the village. Utilize the terrain to establish crossfire points..."

Qin Shaolang spoke calmly and fluently, as if he were not just talking on paper, but had actually commanded countless fortress constructions.

The unfamiliar terms he kept using, such as "fire support," "defense depth," and "crossfire points," left Chu Wu and the others completely bewildered, but they could sense the terrifying power contained within them.

Looking at the simple sketch on the ground, they seemed to see a ferocious war beast slowly awakening from its slumber.

Everyone was stunned by this grand and terrifying blueprint.

This is completely beyond their imagination of "home".

"Brother Qin...can we...can we really build it?" Chu Wu's voice trembled slightly, a mixture of excitement and fear.

Qin Shaolang stood up, threw away the branch, and patted the dirt off his hands.

"able."

His answer consisted of only one word, yet it carried an undeniable force.

"You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time. Today, our first goal is to clear the foundation and fire the first kiln of lime."

He looked at everyone and assigned tasks.

"Chu Wu, take five men and go into the mountains to cut down hard timber. We need a lot of timber to make scaffolding and tools."

"The rest of you, come with me. We're going to find a suitable quarry and limestone."

"yes!"

This time, everyone's answers were full of power.

Although the grand goal was far away, the clear task at hand gave them direction.

Qin Shaolang and his men quickly found a piece of hard bluestone at the foot of a nearby mountain wall.

"This is it." He tapped on the stone wall. "Let's start quarrying stones from here."

He then found a bluish-white rock not far away.

He picked up a piece, scraped it with the dagger he carried, then heated it over a fire, and nodded.

"This is limestone. Break it up, put it in a kiln and calcine it at a high temperature to get quicklime. Add water to quicklime and you get slaked lime. Mix the slaked lime with clay and sand to make the mortar we use for building walls."

He explained the production process of cement's precursor, rammed earth, in the simplest language.

The soldiers were dumbfounded. They only knew that mud was used to build houses, but they never knew that stones could be used so much after being burned.

"Brother Qin, how... how do you know everything?" a soldier asked with admiration.

"If you want to survive, you have to learn a little bit of everything," Qin Shaolang replied calmly, and then began to direct everyone to take action.

Lacking professional tools, they used the most primitive methods.

The rock wall was burned with fire and then splashed with cold water, using the principle of thermal expansion and contraction to crack the rock.

Then, using sticks and stones, they pried the rubble off little by little.

The efficiency was very low, and everyone was working up a sweat, but no one complained.

Behind them, wisps of smoke were already rising from the open space in the valley.

Su Jin directed several women to cook a large pot of fragrant meat porridge using the newly harvested white rice. It contained the leftover pieces of wolf meat, which she had carefully preserved.

The rich aroma of rice and meat wafted over, filling the men who were working hard with boundless energy.

They can have enough to eat and build their own homes.

This feeling of security and hope was something they never dared to dream of before.

Qin Shaolang did not stay at the quarry. After formulating a preliminary plan, he began to wander around the valley, looking for resources that could be used.

His brain was like a high-speed computer, constantly matching knowledge from his past life with the current environment.

Clay can be used to make bricks and tiles.

Bamboo forests can be used to make pipes, tools, and weapons.

Saltpeter from the mountainside is a key ingredient in gunpowder production.

Iron mine in the distance...

The prototype of a complete and massive industrial system slowly took shape in his mind.

What he wanted to build was not just a manor that could defend against bandits.

What he wants to build is an independent kingdom that can be self-sufficient in this chaotic world, possess the ability to protect itself, and even exert influence on the outside world!

As the sun began to set, everyone dragged their weary bodies back to camp.

But their faces were beaming with satisfied smiles.

The first pile of stones has been quarried, and the first batch of timber has been transported back.

Although the completion of that magnificent fortress is still a long way off, they have already taken a solid first step.

A large pot of steaming white rice porridge was ready. There were no side dishes, but everyone ate it with gusto, making happy snoring noises.

Qin Shaolang silently ate his own portion, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

He saw Chu Wu drinking porridge while gesturing how to set up scaffolding.

He saw Su Jin holding a piece of charcoal, recording the day's resource consumption on a flat stone slab.

He saw Su Tang sipping her porridge, her big eyes crinkling into crescent moons with happiness.

There are no walls or houses here yet.

But it already feels a bit like home.

After finishing his meal, Qin Shaolang called Chu Wu and several core family soldiers together.

"We still don't have enough manpower," he said bluntly. "It's almost impossible for us thirty-odd people to build the first wall before winter."

Upon hearing this, Chu Wu frowned as well: "Brother Qin is right, but...where are we going to find someone?"

"Buy it," Qin Shaolang uttered a single word.

"purchase?"

Chu Wu was stunned. The soldiers behind him looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and embarrassment.