When Ren Xiaosu saw Stronghold 178 from afar, he was shocked.
This stronghold was different from any other stronghold he had ever seen. The towering and weathered stronghold was covered in scars, and there were even large patches of it being repaired. It was as though this stronghold had been destroyed and rebuilt many times before.
Bad luck had come and gone again and again, yet this stronghold still stood here.
Although the strongholds of the past also had signs of age, the walls of the strongholds had not been severely damaged, so they looked very neat and tidy.
But the walls of Stronghold 178 were different. At first glance, Ren Xiaosu felt that this wall seemed to have a tenacious life.
He also suddenly understood why people called Stronghold 178 a fortress.
This was a stronghold that was truly built for war. It placed more emphasis on defense than any other stronghold he had seen before.
Zhou Yinglong said proudly, "We all call this Fortress 178. It's different from those weak strongholds outside!"
Ren Xiaosu stood under the towering walls of Fortress 178. Armed soldiers were standing guard on top of the walls. However, as they had arrived together with Zhang Jinglin, the soldiers on the walls did not issue any warnings.
According to Xu Xianchu, it would be very difficult for anyone with unknown origins to get close to this stronghold. If he did not have Ren Xiaosu's recommendation letter back then, he would not have been able to get in.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, "I've written recommendation letters to some people before. Have they come to Fortress 178 yet?"
Xu Xianchu shook his head. "No."
"It looks like they've also gotten into an accident." Ren Xiaosu sighed.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu dug out a bullet from the wall. "Why are there bullets on the wall?"
Fortress 178 was built to defend against enemies. But in Ren Xiaosu's impression, everyone kept saying that Fortress 178 was built to defend against wild animals.
Everyone said that there were fewer wild animals inland because humans had driven them out of the stronghold perimeter. Meanwhile, Fortress 178 was built in the Northwest to prevent a large number of terrifying wild animals from invading.
But how could he explain the bullets on the wall? They were clearly left behind by an enemy who had shot at the wall with a firearm.
Only humans knew how to use firearms.
Xu Xianchu smiled and said, "You will understand in the future. In the era of firearms, the real enemy of mankind is only mankind itself."
This sentence sounded familiar to Ren Xiaosu. A librarian named An Yuqian had once said the same thing.
However, what An Yuqian meant was that the uncontrollable nature of science would allow humans to create powers that they could not control.
Xu Xianchu's meaning was even more straightforward. Fortress 178's enemy was humanity.
The heavy sluice gate of Fortress 178 was slowly raised. The rumbling sounded like a huge dragon roaring in the stronghold.
When the group of people walked in, they were surprised to find that although Fortress 178 was dilapidated, it was unusually tidy and clean.
Originally, Ren Xiaosu thought that the place where a group of burly men from the Northwest lived should be dirty and messy, but it was not like that.
After entering the long street where the sluice gate was located, they could see a huge bronze bell hanging high above a tower at the end of the street.
Xu Xianchu introduced it to Ren Xiaosu, "This bell is also a little different from the ones in our strongholds. The bells in the other strongholds are used to tell the time, but the bell in Fortress 178 only rings when there's a warning. When the bell rings, everyone in the army will have to prepare for a battle to the death."
"When was the last time the bell rang?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
"16 years ago." Xu Xianchu sighed and said, "It's a pity I didn't get to see that scene. Many of us inland don't even know there was a war here. Fortress 178 is like a wall that keeps the dangers and darkness out."
There were quite a lot of civilians on the streets, and everyone was dressed in coarse clothes. Neon lights were rarely seen at the shops' entrances, and there were almost no private vehicles on the road. Occasionally, military off-road vehicles would pass by.
Wang Shengyin asked, "This place looks so primitive."
Xu Xianchu said, "There's a lack of electricity, and a new power plant is being built in the periphery. However, there's not enough manpower in Fortress 178, so the construction is very slow. There used to be a large power station here, but it was destroyed by humans during the war. "
"It doesn't seem like there's an abundance of resources here either." Wang Shengyin said, "The Northwest is quite suitable for growing cotton. There's plenty of sunlight, and there's also plenty of water and groundwater in the snowy mountains. Why don't you plant more cotton here?"
Xu Xianchu looked at her and said, "We'll have to eat our fill first."
Ren Xiaosu looked at the scenery in Fortress 178. To be honest, it was a little shabby. But for some reason, he felt much more comfortable here than in the other strongholds.
When the pedestrians on the street saw Zhang Jinglin's convoy passing by, they did not deliberately curry favor with them. Instead, they greeted them like they were old friends before going about their own business.
Xu Xianchu glanced at Ren Xiaosu. "Xiaosu, can that black medicine of yours be mass-produced? Some of our people suffered frostbite during the winter, and they can't recover from it. Moreover, there's always a shortage of medicine for war. If we can get our hands on that black medicine of yours, it'll be great news for Fortress 178."
Xu Xianchu had also heard about Ren Xiaosu becoming a doctor in town. Zhang Jinglin also knew about it.
Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "It can't be mass-produced."
Xu Xianchu was a little disappointed. "It's fine. When the trade route is opened, we can buy medicine from the Central Plains people."
Fortress 178 was not only lacking medicine, but also clothing, food, and so on. Opening the trade route was an urgent matter for Zhang Jinglin, who had just returned to Fortress 178.
Zhang Jinglin had spent several months cleaning up the chaos in Fortress 178. Now it was time to consider the development of the fortress.
Xu Xianchu arranged for Ren Xiaosu and the others to stay in a small building. "This will be our guest house. It's a little shabby, so please don't mind."
Ren Xiaosu shook his head. "It's already very good."
Wang Shengzhi and Wang Shengyin might not have lived in such a rundown house before, but Ren Xiaosu had even lived in a shack before, so he naturally did not mind.
At this moment, Xu Xianchu said a little embarrassedly, "Xiaosu, your wound hasn't healed yet. I'll go to the Logistics Department to apply for some medicine for you. But the fortress is in short supply of medicine right now, so I might not be able to get it."
Ren Xiaosu smiled and said, "It's fine, I even brought some black medicine with me."
"That's good, that's good." Xu Xianchu rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Do you have any extra black medicine? Um …"
Xu Xianchu was a little embarrassed to say it out loud. One of his subordinates had been injured during training, and his wound was still not healing. Actually, the Logistics Department had run out of medicine for a long time, so they could only endure it. But Ren Xiaosu had just arrived. Not only did he not take good care of him, but he even asked for something from him? What the hell was that?
Ren Xiaosu stuffed a small porcelain bottle into Xu Xianchu's hand. "You're welcome."
Back when Xu Xianchu was at his poorest, he was still willing to give him half of his cornbread. In that case, Ren Xiaosu would not be stingy with Xu Xianchu.
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