The Strongest Lu Bu's Sweeping Thousands of Armies

Chapter 108 Roadway Support
The Pengcheng barracks had begun to take shape, and countless soldiers and civilians were still busy in full swing.

Lu Bu left the city with Chen Gong early in the morning.

They seemed to walk aimlessly for more than an hour.

As it got farther and farther away from Pengcheng, Chen Gong asked, "Wen Hou, where are we going?"

"It's here." Lu Bu stopped.

Looking around, he asked Chen Gong: "Is it difficult to control the immigrants in Pengcheng?"

"It's more than difficult to control." Chen Gong shook his head: "The population is too large, Pengcheng can't accommodate it, and supplies are also scarce. Almost every day, people break the law. Although I tried my best to restrain it, it still didn't work."

"It's because they are too idle, and it's also because Pengcheng is too poor." Lu Bu said: "The so-called poor people come out of bad mountains and rivers, and the people have no money, so they always feel unsafe. The government has nothing to do, and they have no way to make money. I can only try to steal, rob, and rob houses."

Chen Gong didn't say a word.

Lu Bu seemed to be saying that the unruly people were lawless, but in fact the conversation was directed at the government.

The immigrant has only just arrived in Pengcheng, and many things have not yet begun.

He wanted to do something, but couldn't do it.

To control the place, there must be something to control the place!
"The soldiers and civilians are Pengcheng who came with me, so I can't suffer them." Lu Bu said: "Only by enriching the people and strengthening the army can there be long-term peace and stability!"

"What Wen Hou said is true." Chen Gong agreed.

Lu Bu pointed to an open space: "The mouth of the well should be drilled in this place."

"Marquis Wen sees coal underneath?" Chen Gong asked.

"I don't have clairvoyant eyes, so how can I see it." Lu Bu grinned, "I'm just a blind man catching cats, whichever one I catch."

Chen Gong's head was full of black lines.

He pointed at it casually, which means that countless civilians will open a tunnel leading to the underground here.

Once started, it will cost a lot.

Not only is the input of manpower and material resources unlimited, but the consumption of copper coins, food and grass will also be a huge number.

If Lu Bu really guessed wildly, it would be too much fun!
Chen Gong's expression was very strange, Lu Bu laughed, and pointed to the open space in front of him: "Gongtai really thinks I'm guessing? I just saw the stones there, and I think there should be coal underneath."

Looking at the stone that Lu Bu pointed at, Chen Gong looked blank.

The stone was no different from the ones he had seen before. He really couldn't figure out where Lu Bu could tell that there was coal hidden underground.

"The stones are light black, which shows that there is coal not deep underground." Lu Bu said: "The coal in Xuzhou should be hundreds of steps deep. If it weren't for our inability to detect it, I might not choose this place."

Lu Bu turned to look at the guards: "Command General Zang to bring all the recruited men here."

Jumping off his horse, Lu Bu walked to the rock.

Chen Gong followed and dismounted.

Kneeling down to pick up a stone, Lu Bu looked at it over and over.

"Did Wen Hou find something?" Lu Bu asked Chen Gong who thought he saw something again as he kept flipping through the stones.

"Coal gangue." Lu Bu handed the stone to Chen Gong: "This thing can be found on the ground, and the coal is not deep enough."

"After mining the coal, what is Wenhou's next plan?" Chen Gong asked.

"Promote to the people, select good ones to forge steel, and create more powerful weapons for soldiers." Lu Bu stood up: "There are still many things that coal can do, and currently we can only control these."

Lu Bu led Chen Gong to patrol the vicinity, looking for the most suitable place to dig the entrance.

They left Pengcheng and came here and walked for more than an hour.

It will take at least three or four hours for the guards to find Zang Ba after returning, and bring people here.

After all, it is impossible for all the civilian husbands recruited by Zang Ba to have horses.

Zang Ba came with his servants, and Lu Bu had already selected the location to start construction.

"Wen Hou." Zang Ba came to Lu Bu's side.

Lu Bu glanced at the civilian husband he brought: "How many people have you brought?"

"I didn't recruit too many, only brought more than 2000 people." Zang Ba replied.

"How many masons and carpenters are there?" Lu Bu asked, "Have you brought the blacksmith?"

"All of them." Zang Ba replied, "It's just that there are very few craftsmen, especially blacksmiths. It's too hard to find."

"Separate the craftsmen separately." Lu Bu ordered: "The others should be in groups of 50, and each group should choose a leader."

He pointed to the selected place again: "Dig down from here, remember to dig out the slope, people can walk down the hole."

"Wen Hou is going to dig a tunnel?" Zang Ba asked in astonishment.

"It can also be said that way." Lu Bu said: "There are two kinds of entrances to coal mines. One is vertical shafts, which are vertically lifted to send people down. The other is inclined shafts, where people can walk down the ramp. We don't have enough resources to drive out vertical shafts, only inclined shafts can be drilled to transport coal up."

The coal mine has not yet been built, and Chen Gong and Zang Ba certainly do not know the specific structure.

Lu Bu didn't know much about coal mines either.

He just recalled the structure of the mine based on what he had seen before.

Unskilled peasants carried tools and dug a hole at the place designated by Lu Bu.

There are no more than 50 craftsmen with skills.

They are picked out and stand separately as a pair.

Lu Bu came to them.

His eyes swept over everyone's face: "Carpenter, please stand up."

More than a dozen people stood up.

There was an unconcealable panic in their expressions.

"Are you all carpenters?" Lu Bu looked at them.

"Yes!" More than a dozen people who stood up bowed their waists and responded one after another.

"After the laneway is seen, I need you to support it with wood." Lu Bu asked, "Are you sure?"

"If it's not too deep, it should be fine." A carpenter replied, "If it's too deep, I'm afraid it's not easy. After all, wood doesn't need iron, and if it's too heavy, it will definitely be crushed."

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the output of iron ore was too small to be used to make weapons and farm tools. Of course, Lu Bu did not want too much iron used in mines.

He asked the carpenter present: "What method can be used to make the wood as strong as iron?"

The carpenters looked at each other and no one answered.

Lu Bu asked again: "If the wood is soaked in tung oil, do you think it will be stronger?"

This sentence reminds the carpenter.

One of them replied: "In the past, if we wanted the wood to be heavier and stronger, we would paint it with tung oil. If it can be soaked in tung oil, of course it will be as hard as iron."

"Then soak the wood in tung oil." Lu Bu said, "Not only must it be strong, but it must also withstand decay. After all, wood soaked in tung oil is not as expensive as iron."

Ironware, the value after 2000 is not very high.

However, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty when the smelting industry was relatively backward, its value was far higher than that of tung oil.

After making arrangements for the carpenters, Lu Bu then ordered the masons and blacksmiths to add a few stone and iron pillars at intervals to strengthen the roadway.

(End of this chapter)