Spring and Autumn I Am King

"Do you want me to help Han's repair the Hulao?" Hearing this, Lu Ban put down the hammer in his hand, took the apprentice's silk towel and wiped his sweaty sturdy arms. Only then did he look at Duan Gui and Han Anping with interest.

According to the agreement of the two patriarchs of Zhao Han, after the Zhao family helped the Han family to defeat Chenggao, this war against Zheng will end. Even if Zheng Guo counterattacks, the Han family must turn to the defense. Zhao's soldiers and craftsmen will also be evacuated, leaving the Hulao completely to the Han family.

Therefore, after the war, facing the chaotic tiger prison behind the collapsed large turret walls, in order to defend this place under the counterattack of the Zheng people in the future, Duan Gui and Han Anping had to come to visit, and asked Luban to give them some pointers on how to repair the city. .

Faced with the request of the two, the young Lu Ban smiled and said, "Didn't Ziju say yesterday that it is all relying on Han's lord and ministers to be able to conquer the tiger's prison? Since Han thinks that there is no such thing as Zhao Shangqing and my father losing the class. Why do you have to ask me again?"

Han Anping was born from a noble family and was a little dissatisfied with Lu Ban's arrogance. Even if this person was a middle-ranking doctor in Zhao's family and was favored by Zhao Wuxi, he was still just a craftsman. Meat eaters gave him a good face, and he really regarded himself as extraordinary. already?

Duan Gui didn't take it seriously, stopped Han Anping from getting angry, and apologized with a smile: "How dare you, this time to conquer the tiger prison, it all depends on the help of Shangqing to help Han, and it also depends on Luzi's ability, otherwise we are still eating in the city now. The ashes!"

These paragraph rules are not nonsense. The subtle strategy and Han's poor execution ability do not match, causing Chenggao Raiders to fall into a dilemma. Wei has chosen to stand by and watch, if Zhao also ignores Han, then this time they will surely fail.

Duan Gui, who initiated this proposal, will also be abandoned by Han Hu, cast aside by the Han clan and retainers, and there is no possibility of turning over again.

He was already desperate, but Zhao Wuxi reached out a helping hand and turned Duan Gui Xianyu over. You must know that anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Han family deliberately fought against Zheng this time on the premise of violating the Zhao family's strategy. Makes sense.

It is also Shangqing. Fan Yang's suppression of Zhao who went against his will was extremely cruel and quick...

What's rare is that Zhao Wuxi actually tolerated Han's prudence, and even gave them a hand, which made Han Hu grateful, and even Duan Gui, who was more thoughtful, felt a little ashamed, and felt that Zhao Wuxi His heart is really broad, and he also realized one thing: Han's leaving Zhao's support, it really can't be done!

And his sense of Lu Ban has also rapidly improved, and the superb method of making the Hulao city wall collapse while talking and laughing is impossible without admiration.

Those who are good at attacking must be good at defending. This is everyone's subconscious understanding, so they solemnly asked Lu Ban to help Han before leaving.

What they didn't expect was that behind Lu Ban's refusal to return to leave, he was delighted to have a plan. After pretending to refuse a few times, he agreed.

...

"Here needs to be rebuilt, and here..."

On the third day after the end of the Hulao offensive and defensive battle, Lu Ban climbed the city wall non-stop, pointing around like a small farmer patrolling his fields.

Duan Gui and Han Anping followed behind. They had no say in this regard. Lu Ban was the expert. After the battle at Hulao, he undoubtedly became a recognized siege expert in the Central Plains of this era and a leader among the hundred workers.

In the end, Lu Ban simply drew a drawing and gave it to Duan Gui, and asked him to rebuild Hulao according to this method.

"This..." Staring at the structure of the new Hulao City on the blueprint, Duan Gui was a little surprised, because if the fortress above could be built, it would be a mighty city with a width of two miles, a height of three feet, and a base of the city walls three or four thick!

Lu Ban, on the other hand, had already begun to enter the state, and he continued to say: "The old city wall of Hulao has collapsed in a big corner. Presumably through this attack, the two have also seen that the method of siege is changing with each passing day, and the walls of the past are no longer able to To withstand the attack. Even if there is no point attack, the water and fire intersect, the Hulao can’t withstand several repetitions. In order to stand firm in the next Zheng Guo’s counterattack, the Hulao must be defended, so it is better to build another wall outside this wall. Thick exterior walls!"

The commonly used method of building a city in this era is generally block-building. The so-called block-building is to use two wooden boards (blocks) to sandwich the wall. The width between the two boards is equal to the thickness of the wall, and the outside of the board is supported by wooden pillars. Fill the soil between the two boards, build (pound) it with a pestle, and remove the planks and pillars to form a wall. The so-called "Fu Shuo is held between the building blocks" is what happened on the construction site of the wall.

Today, Lu Ban, who is similar to Fu Fu, is trying to sell a new method that is different from traditional printing.

"First of all, it is necessary to set up a pot to steam the soil, then mix the mirage, stir the clay evenly, and pour it into the wood block. The next procedure is similar to the block building, but the city wall created is better than the ordinary rammed earth mixed with straw. The wall is several times thicker and harder! If you dig deeper into the foundation, even if I use the method I used before, I can't do anything about the city!"

Lu Ban was not lying, but he used local materials. In front of the two of them, he used the method he described to build a short wall outside the city. Sure enough, after a day of exposure to the sun, the short wall had changed. Even the copper cones can’t go deep, and it’s much harder than a rammed earth wall that falls off the ground as soon as it is smashed!

Duan Gui and Han Anping were stunned for a while, and they couldn't help but be moved after seeing it with their own eyes. This plan looks very grand. If it can be successful, it may really be as Lu Ban said, so that the people of Zheng Guo can do nothing and let the Han family guard this isolated enclave, but...

To build such a city, the price to pay should not be underestimated.

Duan Gui said hesitantly: "Steamed soil, clay, plate building, and even manpower, all of these can be obtained as long as you are willing to pay, but... only mirage, Han can manufacture a small amount of it, if you need more, It has to be obtained from Yan and Qi, and transported thousands of miles, its price is more expensive than cloth."

The so-called mirage is lime, but the Central Plains in the Spring and Autumn Period did not invent the technique of burning lime with limestone. On the contrary, in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, since thousands of years ago, the oyster shells commonly found in the sea have been collected, and the lime burnt with oyster shells is called "mirage charcoal", as a substitute before the emergence of lime burning technology.

So until the Spring and Autumn Period, the mirage charcoal produced in Qidi has been used to smear the exterior walls of houses, or sprinkle it around to kill snakes and insects. Because the amount is not large, there is no problem.

However, Luban's plan to build a city requires a lot of lime, and with Han's current financial resources, he can't afford it at all, and the output of this thing is not high, and sometimes it has no market...

"You don't need to worry about this." Lu Ban patted his chest and assured: "The mirage that Han needs can be provided by Zhao, who has already obtained Hejian and controlled the seashore of Ju State. There is an endless supply of things! It’s twice as cheap as the ones sold by the people of Qi!”

"Is this true!?" Han Anping was immediately overjoyed. If this is the case, then Han's gritted teeth can probably afford it. In order to defend the Hulao, this Han's future strategic location, some of the price is worth it. The owner will agree.

However, the suspicious Duan Gui gave birth to a little doubt: "Since the Zhao family has such a wonderful method, why not use it in the construction of their own cities and towns, but let the Han family use it first?"

Unexpectedly, his words angered Lu Ban.

"OK!"

Lu Ban angrily kicked the small wall and said, "Shangqing said before I came, that Han Qing is like his brother, and Han is like Zhao's siblings on the terrain, protecting him. The confidants of Hanoi and Taiyuan. The Han family is as strong as the Zhao family. The two need to support each other to achieve a win-win situation. That's why I came to help the Han family break the tiger prison, and let me teach you the new method of building a city. , in order to help the Han family establish a foothold in Henan..."

"Who would have guessed that there are traitors in the Han family, who deliberately violated the plan of Shangqing and caused chaos for the three great causes. Now you are the first to invite me, but in turn speculate on me, although the Gongxu class is only a mere hundred workers, but There is also a bit of backbone, and I don’t want to be humiliated! It’s okay, just pretend I didn’t say it today!”

"Lu Zi's anger, Lu Zi's anger!" Seeing this, Duan Gui hurried over to grab Lu Ban's hand, desperately apologizing, and after several low-pitched pleas, Lu Ban calmed down and continued to discuss the restoration of Hulao City.

"If you want me to give guidance, then the fortification must be strict. All structures are made according to my drawings. The Han family must immediately recruit laborers and prepare materials. This year, the foundation will be dug first, and next year, the city will be built by steaming soil. I hereby suggest , the city to be built must be divided into districts, and craftsmen are designated to be in charge. After the wall is built, the copper cones are nailed into one inch, that is, kill the author and build it together!"

Extremely cruel, but effective, Duan Gui and Han Anping nodded in agreement, full of expectations, if such a city could be built within two years, the people of Zheng Guo would have nothing to do with them!

But after they thanked them and left, Lu Ban showed a scheming smile.

"Shangqing is right. The Han family has paid too much to get Chenggao, and they are even more reluctant to lose this place. They really fell for it..."

...

What Duan Gui and Han Anping didn't know was that the "mirage charcoal" that Lu Ban promised to provide was not shipped from Yan State or Langya at all, but was quarried and burned with limestone in various Zhao's mines and workshops... The technology that Xiang should have developed in Qin and Han Dynasty appeared ahead of time under the impetus of Zhao Wuxi. After all, the hardware conditions were met, and there was only one idea left.

The amount of lime that Zhao's burned is enough for the internal medicine, printing and dyeing industries, and Zhao Wuxi also wanted Luban to make cement. This so-called building of a city by steaming soil is just a crude use of lime. Later Helian Bobo used this method to build a city that is sturdy.

Talking about cheap lime as mirage from the seashore and reselling it to Han at a high price will not only benefit Zhao, but the amount of Hulao City alone will be enough to drain the not-so-rich Han Hu.

In the final analysis, this is still part of Zhao's strategy of "tiring Han Han and Zheng". It seems to be affectionate to help and rescue people, but behind it is to pull Han firmly into Zhao's camp, and secretly deplete their strength. conspiracy……

"If the Han family really builds this city, once Zhao and Han have a bad relationship, the Zhao army will not be able to capture the tiger's prison..." Lu Ban remembered that when he came, he also raised this question to Zhao Wuxi.

"Have you heard of Hai Dayu?" Zhao Wuxi threw back such a sentence.

Lu Ban answered honestly, "No."

"The big fish in the East China Sea is called Kun. It can't be caught with nets or caught with hooks, but once he leaves the sea with pride and pride, even the mere ants will be able to eat its flesh. Now it is still a complete state of Jin. , it is equivalent to the sea of ​​fish of the Han family~www.wuxiaspot.com~ They have been under my shelter to survive the civil war, but now they want to get rid of the Zhao family and develop independently, but they don't know that without the Zhao family, Without the complete state of Jin, with the Han family's geographical advantage and their pitiful strength, even if the city walls of Hulao, Pingyang, and Yiyang are built as high as the sky, what's the use?"

Lu Ban suddenly realized, and suddenly realized that his vision is limited to one city and one pool, or to the whole world. This is the difference between Shangqing and Han Hu and Weimanduo!

"What's more, isn't there still you?" Zhao Wuxi pointed at Lu Ban and gave him advice.

"Using your spear to attack your shield, is the spear breaking through the shield, or the shield leaving the spear? It's not easy to leave a flaw that others can't see in the city defense you designed yourself! The ever-changing technique of siege, why not break it? Han’s hard work is just a waste of his family’s energy. While building the city, he has to guard against the counterattack of the Zheng people. As far as Han’s savings and population are concerned, I am afraid that before he rises, he will not be able to. We are going to repeat the story of the collapse of the Liang Kingdom... Fortune and misfortune lie in the back, and misfortune and fortune depend on it, just as it was planned before, the decline of the Han family begins with their greed to protect the Hulao Pass!"

For children who are not very obedient, Zhao Wuxi always makes them recognize the reality first, and when they come back crying and call their father, he hates spanking their butts! (To be continued.)