Yang Fan asked the people in the stockade to use local materials. They rammed a sharpened end of a piece of wood into the wall of the stockade and erected it to form a sturdy wooden wall. They used the gaps between the long and short pieces of wood as arrow mounds to prevent their bodies from being completely exposed to the enemy's attack range.
The stockade men pushed the huge rocks in front of the stockade into the ravine. The trees on both sides of the stockade that could be used as cover were all chopped down and dragged into the stockade. They could be used to build the stockade walls and bunkers. Yang Fan also asked them to pile sand next to the bunkers in preparation for extinguishing the fire.
Yang Fan also taught them to use bamboo and tough wood to make a simple catapult.
One end of two long bamboos was tied to a net bag and the other end was fixed to the ground. The end of the net bag was placed on a bracket and a rope fixed to the ground was used to tighten the top of the bamboo pole so that it bent downwards. After the stones were placed in the net bag, a woman only needed to use a wooden stick to pull the rope outward, and the two bamboos could pour the stones out of the net bag.
Its disadvantage was that it was easy to damage, and the stones thrown were not big and had a short range. However, its advantage was that it was easy to make. Moreover, they were defending the city, so they did not need to throw heavy and heavy stones. A pile of stones the size of a fist was just right. The area of attack was large enough and could be fatal.
The people in the stockade village also had some simple and effective defensive measures. They brought a lot of caltrops from the forest and scattered them all over the hillside. This kind of vine herb had triangular thorns on its outer shell, which could be pierced by ordinary cloth boots. Most of Wen Hao's native soldiers were barefoot, so it was not easy to clean up these caltrops and defend against the arrows shot from the stockade village.
The road leading to the main gate was not paved with these things. Firstly, the women, the children, the old, and the young were still going back and forth endlessly, so they needed a path. Secondly, there was only one path left, which was not very useful to the attackers. They could not concentrate their forces on this kind of winding mountain path to attack the stronghold.
Yang Fan leaned on the stockade wall to test the direction of the wind and asked Gao Qingshan a few questions to understand the changes in the wind direction in the mountains. He then asked people to prepare cow and horse dung, weeds, and some poisonous plants to make some simple poisonous smoke bombs. When the wind direction was right, these things could also cause a lot of trouble to the enemy.
In addition, considering that once the stronghold was breached, the entire stronghold would be in a completely defenseless state, Yang Fan asked his men to build a second "stronghold wall" with wooden stakes in a more dangerous place according to the terrain. In this way, once the stronghold was breached, they would not immediately be at the mercy of the enemy. They could retreat to the second bunker and continue fighting.
Regardless of whether it was a city or a stockade, the weakest place was definitely the main gate. The gate of the White River Stockade was so simple that it was basically a fence. It was a symbolic existence to guard against the nobles but not the villains. There was not enough time to temporarily install a hanging gate or a suspension bridge, so Yang Fan asked people to build a barbican inside the stockade gate with mud and stones.
Barbicans had always been built outside the city, but they did not have enough firepower support on the stockade wall. The barbican was relatively simple and could be easily breached if it was built outside. Yang Fan suddenly had an idea and moved the barbican inside the stockade. With this barbican, the entrance to the stockade was extremely narrow. It was difficult for the enemy to launch a large-scale attack, and the guards on top of the barbican could look down from above and kill a large number of enemies.
With Yang Fan's guidance, the stockade was gradually changed. Although it looked strange, it gradually had a murderous aura of being armed to the teeth. In the eyes of a true military commander, these measures of Yang Fan could only be considered half-baked. However, in the eyes of these simple mountain people, Yang Fan was simply the reincarnation of a military god who could turn iron into gold.
Who would have thought that with just some stones, wood, and sand, after some simple modifications, the originally weak stockade could have such great destructive and defensive power? Xun Er's small hands were behind her back as she inspected the stockade that was slowly changing. She did not say anything, but when she looked at Yang Fan, her eyes were already shining with red hearts.
The reinforcement and modification of the stockade wall was the most important thing. By dusk, the general shape of the wall had already been formed. However, although the barbican that Yang Fan had designed could not be any simpler and could probably be destroyed after two battles or a heavy rainstorm, it still could not be built in one go. They had to burn the midnight oil to complete it before the enemy arrived.
"Miss, be careful!"
Yang Fan was pointing at the stockade gate when he suddenly saw a girl carrying a bucket trip over a piece of dirt that had fallen on the ground during the construction of the barbican. Her body fell forward and she almost fell to the ground. The water in the basket splashed onto her shoulder.
Seeing this, Yang Fan quickly stepped forward and reached out to grab her arm. Yang Fan had clearly grabbed the girl's sleeve, but who knew that he would grab empty air. Yang Fan was startled, but his movements did not have the slightest hesitation. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed the water basket on her shoulder.
"Thank you, I'm fine!"
The girl smiled at him, then quickly hid her eyes and thanked him in a low voice.
Her complexion was not very good. Her face was pale and gray, and there was not a trace of blood on her lips. She looked especially haggard.
Yang Fan saw that her appearance was somewhat familiar. He looked carefully and suddenly remembered. He could not help but shout, "Ah! It's you! "
It turned out that this was the girl who carried the water basket on her back to feed him.
That day, she was in high spirits. Her flushed cheeks were like the sunset on the horizon, and her bashful eyes were like the rippling river. But today, she …
The water from the basket had soaked her clothes, and dark red blood slowly seeped out of her shoulder.
"Lianxin, Lianxin, what's wrong?"
A girl carrying a bucket of water outside the stockade gate saw this scene and quickly rushed over. Water jumped out of the water basket on her shoulder and splashed onto the ground.
"Lianxin!"
The girl supported her. Lianxin pursed her lips and forced a smile. She said in a low voice, "I'm fine. Hurry and go. Store more water." She broke free from the girl's hand and hurried away. It seemed that she did not want to stand in front of Yang Fan for too long.
Yang Fan looked at the girl who had just arrived. It was the girl who had poured water for Gao Qingshan in the hall earlier. Yang Fan asked, "Miss, when I saw her a few days ago … Miss Lianxin was fine. What happened to her?"
The girl's eyes turned red when she heard this. She knew that the large changes in the stockade were all because of Yang Fan. This person was different from the people in Yaozhou. Even though they came from the same place, they were completely different people, so she did not hide it from him.
The girl choked with sobs and said, "A few days ago, Chieftain Wen's soldiers charged into our stockade and killed and burned everywhere. I was hidden by my father in the pile of firewood behind the millstone and was so scared that I did not dare to go out. I saw an animal chasing Lianxin and tearing at her clothes. Lianxin resisted with all her might, but her arm was chopped off by him. That animal … "
Her tears suddenly poured out like a spring. "Lianxin had already fainted from the pain, but that animal still did not let her go. He tore off Lianxin's clothes and raped her!"
She picked up her sleeve and wiped the corner of her eyes. She said with hatred, "I heard people call him little headman, and there were also people who called him Xie Chuanfeng! I will never forget him in my life. We must get revenge for this! "
"Xie Chuanfeng!"
Yang Fan slightly narrowed his eyes and a sharp light shot out of them. "He is one of Chieftain Wen's men? I will remember this! Tell Miss Lianxin that I will use that person's blood to repay the favor of carrying water! "
The girl raised her teary eyes and looked at him with some surprise. Gao Qingshan walked with heavy steps to him and said to the girl, "Tell Lianxin to stop carrying water. Her body is still weak, so look after her." The girl agreed and chased after Lianxin.
Gao Qingshan gazed at their receding silhouettes. His deep voice rumbled like thunder in his chest, "I've already asked around. That Xie guy has a headman, Gengen. That's why he's a little headman. He's working in the Martial Governor's Office and has an official position. He's a military officer of the lower eighth rank!"
Yang Fan knew what the headman 'Gengen' meant. The big headman or the second headman had an affair with a woman from a commoner's family but did not take her as a wife or concubine. This woman married a commoner, but because the child's father was the headman, also known as the headman 'Gengen', he would become a little headman.
Yang Fan said word by word, "I guarantee that he will die!"
For a beautiful woman in the prime of her youth to suddenly have one of her arms chopped off and her pure body defiled, it was a great pain. Yang Fan had always hated the people in the Censorate for their heartless deeds, but he had never hated them as much as he did now. It was a kind of pain that cut into his skin. It was as if Miss Lianxin was his own flesh and blood.
Gao Qingshan withdrew his gaze and looked back at him. He said in a deep voice, "This person's life is mine!"
Yang Fan did not argue with him and only asked, "Who else does this girl have in her family?"
Gao Qingshan's thick black eyebrows slightly rose. He asked, "What is it?"
Yang Fan said, "If she has no relatives in the stronghold, after the situation in Yaozhou has calmed down, perhaps … I can take her to Luoyang."
Gao Qingshan's bright eyes stared at him. He said in a deep voice, "You want to marry her?"
Yang Fan said, "I already have a wife."
The corner of Gao Qingshan's mouth slightly curled up. There was a hint of mockery in his voice. "She does not need sympathy. Everyone in the stronghold will take care of her."
Yang Fan said in a low voice, "Perhaps, a change of environment will be better for her …"
Gao Qingshan was a little confused. He thought about it for a moment before he understood. He lightly replied, "Although our ancestors were also Chinese, we are not as stupid as you! It is not her fault that she was humiliated. No one would dare to use this reason to humiliate her, especially men. Because we did not protect women well, the ones who should feel humiliated are us men! "
He suddenly turned around. After taking two steps, he suddenly turned back. His eyes were bright. "I am very grateful for your good intentions, but I will say it again. That Xie fellow's life is mine!"
Yang Fan frowned and said to Gao Qingshan, "It may not be difficult for me to kill him. But you … it will not be easy. "
"I know!"
Gao Qingshan raised his head high and said in a deep voice, "But this is my responsibility! Because I am her blood brother! "
Gao Qingshan walked away with large strides. Yang Fan looked at his back that was as heavy as a mountain. After a long time, he turned to look at the barbican that was still under construction.
He had spent a lot of effort to build this stronghold into a fortress because he knew that this was a guarantee for the peace talks to proceed. If something happened to the thousand-plus people in the White River Stronghold, it would anger the White Brute tribe. If something happened to Xun Er, the door to negotiations would be completely closed.
He did this for his own safety. Because if Huang Jingrong dared to deny that he was the imperial envoy, then Huang Jingrong would not hesitate to kill him.
But right now, Yang Fan simply wanted to build this stronghold into a killing machine. It was not for the success of the negotiations, nor was it to ensure his own safety. It was simply because he wanted to kill. He had an impulse to kill!
…
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