Chapter 256: The Hidden Plan
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The afternoon sun cast a golden light across the dry grasslands. The foundation work on the new wall was finally nearing completion.
As the concrete was poured into the beams, a group of craftsmen followed Prince Xiao Ming’s instructions. They used metal rods to repeatedly stab into the freshly poured concrete and pull them out again.
In modern construction, this is done with a vibrating rod to shake the concrete and remove air pockets. Since they didn’t have that equipment here, this was their best manual method.
“Xu Changgui, we’ll start backfilling in three days. When you do, make sure to water the soil thoroughly so it compacts well,” Xiao Ming instructed a middle-aged craftsman nearby.
Xu Changgui had once been a slave bought by Liang Dahai. He was later assigned to the construction team. In his former life, he was a bricklayer, so when Xiao Ming gave technical orders, he picked things up quickly.
Since Xiao Ming planned to create a permanent construction corps for Qingzhou, he made sure to mentor people with potential. Xu Changgui was one of them, and over the past few days, Xiao Ming had personally taught him the finer points of wall-building.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Xu Changgui answered carefully, always keeping a humble tone. As a slave, he knew his place. Just being noticed by the Prince was already more fortune than he had ever dreamed of.
He’d been studying hard, believing that if he proved himself, perhaps one day he could shed the label of “slave.”
Just then, a cheer rose from the distance. Xiao Ming turned his head to see a group of cavalry approaching, all clad in silver armor.
“Your Highness, looks like Niu Ben and Lu Fei are back. Seems like the nomads have started chasing them,” said Zhan Xingchang.
Xiao Ming nodded. “That’s called when the enemy advances, we retreat. If the nomads waste all this energy hunting us only to find no one, it’ll drive them mad.”