My Father in Law is Lu Bu - Chapter 270

Chapter 270

Cement

 

Two months had passed by quickly . In that two months, Liu Mang was caught in dire straits . Liu Mang had really underestimated the advisors of that era . They made use of his conscription order and dig out a hole for Rody to jump in .

 

The past two months were difficult . If it was not because of the seeds Liu Mang had brought, the rations would not have been enough .

 

An entire population of 1 . 2 million soldiers almost caused Liu Mang to die . Although Yangzhou was rich, it cannot support 1 . 2 million people even during a golden age . It should be said that Shouchun and Liujiang are only one-third of the Yangzhou . Right now, Yangzhou was left in a mess like the others .

 

Hundreds of business prospered in Shouchun . The 1 . 2 million people could not only eat and drink without restrain . They also have a place to sleep .

 

Homes, rations and clothing for the common people needed to be dealt with . Liu Mang had never dealt with so many people before . On top of that, these people all owned nothing .

 

Liu Mang had also already read the letters given to him by Lu Bu and Chen Gong . Written on it were nothing more than cutting off one’s own means of retreat . However, Liu Mang did not give his promise because he did not do that only to help his father-in-law . He also did that to give his people a better background and a home to return to . If Shouchun and Lujiang were abandoned, the Lu Bu Army would not gain anything even if they crossed the Yangtze River and fought with Jiangdong . The war at Guandu will continue for a long time . Once Yuan Shao and Cao Cao disposed of each other, the world would no longer have a chance . Lu Bu was not Liu Bei . That guy can mess around at Jiangdong and Chibi then obtain Jingzhou . Lu Bu and Sun Ce were mortal enemies . It was impossible for them to form an alliance . If the current scenario would be followed, both sides would lose out . Both of them would no longer be able to rule . They could only join Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian be buried in the earth as a pile of dry bones .

 

Liu Mang could not do that . Since the disaster was created by Liu Mang, he would solve it himself .

 

“Is it a success?” Liu Mang had dark circles under his eyes as he looked at Liu Ye who also had dark circles under his eyes . Liu Ye had also not slept in a few days . He had been researching things . He had found his paradise since arriving at Liu Mang’s place . He could finally learn his own things . Liu Mang’s pile of books gave Liu Ye many sleepless nights . Liu Mang now discussed about cement with him .

 

Liu Mang was unable to find so many wooden bricks for the people to build houses . He also did not have the time . At that moment, the people were sleeping under military tents at the wilderness .

 

The cement became Liu Mang’s life saving straw . This is because once it was made, buildings could be made quickly without needing clay and rice water to solidify the cracks between the bricks .

 

Liu Mang could not remember how to make cement . However, he knew that he needed to use limestone and mix it with clay . Limestone just needed to be cooked under high temperature . Mixed things are then put into the cooked area and processed . It is then polished before it becomes a success .

 

The principle is simple but the actual operation is not so simple . In two months, the great inventor of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Ye, only managed to create simple cement . This cement could only be used to reinforce simple houses and walls . It still has no effect on underwater structures but that is already enough .

 

“Ziyang . Have thirty teams of people to collect as many limestones as they can . Send another twenty teams to collect clay!” Liu Mang then gathered the 1 . 2 million people . Each team consist of ten thousand people with a total of one hundred and twenty teams .

 

Fifty teams would mean five hundred thousand people . Liu Mang was unable to support these people for nothing . If they do not work, food will not be distributed to them . Of the 1 . 2 million people, two hundred thousand were the elderly, the handicapped and the children . Liu Mang did not make things difficult for these people and distributed food for them . The remaining ones were not so lucky . Liu Mang did not have much provisions left . Lu Bu had moved the provisions from Lujiang to Shouchun but this could only last for six months with two months already passed . The forage in the military has begun to shrink .

 

“Yes Milord!” Liu Ye nodded and then instructed one of his own assistant . He knew that cement was of great importance . Liu Ye has tested out the hardness of the cement and found that it is much stronger compared to those using wooden bricks . It was hard to cut it with a sword . Only the ballista and catapults were able to destroy it . Liu Ye definitely did not want this to fall into the enemy’s hand and would supervise this himself .

 

With more than five hundred thousand people working together, limestones were peeled off and clays were excavated . All of this were sent to the huge camps outside Shouchun .

 

The camp was quickly turned into an industrial zone by Liu Mang . Cement was not the only thing being made in there . There was a large chimney and operating mechanisms used to make ballista . If it was not because this place was not close to water, Liu Mang may have pulled the docks over and have the Black Flag garrison the area . The guards of Shouchun had already been replaced with garrison troops . Liu Mang had to support all these people and so he did not hold back . He recruited more than fifty thousand soldiers from the 1 . 2 million people as a garrison force . These recruits made Liu Mang surprised . That was because the recruits were all good at fighting . They were no different from the Danyang ruffians . When Liu Mang asked, he found out that most of these people were mountain people . However, it does not matter what their backgrounds were . With Liu Mang, they are all considered part of a Great Han Family . Liu Mang did not discriminate against them just because they were from a pre-Qin or Baiyue people . Those that wished to blend in together with the Han are all treated as Han people equally .

 

The limestones were cooked accordingly . It is then processed with clay before being cooked again . Bags of limestone was taken out of the industrial zone and transported to Shouchun on a carriage .

 

“What are those?” Most of the people staying at Shouchun were the elderly and the children . There were also a lot of women . The elderly must not be underestimated . They were people with prestigious foundation . They were able to give the youngsters earnest advice, especially the more careful mountain people .

 

“I don’t know! Bags followed by more bags . Are those food?” Someone guessed that the cloth bags should be filled with food . This is because people would usually be afraid of dampness for food . When a food gets wet, it gets moldy easily . As cloth is able to absorb water, food is usually transported using cloth bags . Naturally, the bags were not wheat flour bags but a kind of coarse bags . The bags were not only waterproof . Even the manufacturing cost of it was not high . That was why Liu Mang’s army had a lot of these kind of bags .

 

“Food? His Royal Highness’ does not have much food left?” Another person asked .

 

“We were already running out since long ago . Didn’t you notice that His Highness had been reducing our supply of rations?” An old man stood up and said .

 

“Reduced? How could that be? Don’t we still get three meals a day?” Some people were puzzled . Liu Mang gave them three meals a day . In the morning and in the evening, they were given porridge . While in the afternoon, they received food provided by the canteen . This is to ensure that they have enough strength to work .

 

“The afternoon meals have not changed . However, the quantity of porridge in the morning and evening have been reduced . It has more water and less rice!” The elderly deserved to be called as such . From their lifetime of experience, they were able to tell that Liu Mang’s army has a food shortage from the thickness of the porridge’s broth .

 

“Perhaps you have blurred vision!” An old lady gave the old man a glance .

 

“Haha . It has been so many years . I may be old and muddled but the amount of food still cannot be hidden from my eyes . ” If it was only just once or twice, he would not care . However, the food has been declining throughout the month . As a result, the old man had no choice but to make this assumption .

 

The old man’s assumptions were correct . The reduction of food in the morning and the evening was indeed ordered by Liu Mang . This was also done helplessly as the Liu Mang Army’s rations were really not much . If Liu Mang did not save it, he may not have even lasted two months .

 

The words of lack of food made the people anxious . Liu Mang did not expect a few old men to find out just from the porridge . People were indeed more precious the older they get .

 

Bags of limestones were then thrown on the ground . In front of the bags was a large open space . The originally ruined buildings had already been demolished by Liu Mang . Even though they let the people live in tents, they would not allow them to live in those old homes . This is because those old homes may collapse from the wind . At that time, the price would be human lives .

 

The cloth of the bag was torn open . Ash grey powder then appeared in front of everybody .

 

“It is not food!” The old man from before shook his head .  How wonderful would it be if it had been food .

 

“What are these ash grey things for?” A person who did not understand went and asked the old man . However, the old man also did not know . They have never seen the ash gray powder before . Contrary to expectations, another old man mumbled with doubt . “Is this powdered limestone?”
Although it was not limestone, it was not that far off . A captain from the engineering team then told the people . “This is cement . The cement is used to make big houses!” The captain had obviously saw the cement being used at the industrial zone . That was why he was very confident and proud when he uttered this news .

 

“What b? Use this to make houses? Your brain numb boy?” An old man questioned with strong dialect . 1

 

Building homes! In their eyes, homes were made using large bricks and tiles . If they cannot afford it, they use the earth and bamboo, stuck together . The gray powder was not used at all .

 

“Can we make more money lying to you?” The questioned captain was not happy . “Don’t believe me then come and see!”2

 

The cement was taken down and piled up into a small pile . One of the engineers poured water on the pile of cement . He dug a small hole and stirred with a stick .

 

“Adding water to ash? Oh, you are playing in the mud like a child . ” Children liked to play like this but they used their urine instead of water .

 

“If you don’t believe it, then forget about it!” The captain looked irritated . “Come! Let’s first have the elderly take a look! Do not allow them lo look down on us!”

 

The other engineering members were also unhappy as it was not nice to be questioned .

 

Wooden planks3 were carried over . They did not have any reinforcing bars . They only have wooden planks and cement for the inner framework .

 

One by one, the general framework was made by wooden planks . Cement was properly smeared . With a lot of people, the efficacy is high . With tens of thousands of people, houses were built one after another . Although the cement had not yet dried, the general framework was already done . Liu Mang’s first wave of construction was a row of single-story house . The houses were temporary but were guaranteed to be sturdy and firm . After a period of time, Liu Mang planned to build the foundation for two-story buildings .

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know how to ‘translate dialect’ . Which resulted in ‘Your name numb boy’ . Captain also speaking in some kind of dialect using 哉 Considering the fact that other guys asking rhetorical questions in the past don’t’ use them, I assume it’s a dialect . Wooden planks are the long and fairly thick ones . Wooden bricks are short and very thick .

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