Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 627 - 593: Zhao Yun and Fa Zheng Return

Sun Qian looked at the geological report of the Linyi area and felt completely reassured. There was no shortage of stone materials in that place; building a fortress would pose no difficulty. The remaining major concern was the craftsmen issue, but things like stonemasons, carpenters were actually not a problem. With the construction of many buildings, these crafts could be broken down into tasks that contained no technical content, to the point that as long as the orders were good, anyone could do it.

"How is it looking for building a fort in Linyi?" Jia Xu turned his head to glance at the survey report in Sun Qian’s hands and asked.

"It’s very straightforward, using local materials. I plan to build the road there at the same time. After it connects with Mount Tai, the troop deployment speed can be reduced from ten days to eight days. Both sides are starting construction, and the local brick kiln is already up and running." Sun Qian nodded his head and said, "With the road paved with bricks and a solid foundation, the speed of our logistics transportation can be increased by several times."

Sun Qian was now undoubtedly the most experienced in construction across the land. Just last year alone, he independently designed and oversaw the construction of five city-level buildings, which were basically completed now, and there were several others that he designed and planned, then handed over to others to build.

"I don’t understand all this, you handle it. Roughly how long will it take to build a permanent defensive infrastructure?" Jia Xu shook his head, admitting his ignorance about such matters, but he still had absolute trust in Sun Qian’s ability to construct cities and infrastructure, as evidenced by Sun Qian’s work on the expansion and reconstruction of Mount Tai and Qingzhou.

"It will be finished before the end of the year. The city level should be at the prefecture city, inner city level. If necessary, we can further enhance it," Sun Qian said confidently.

Truth be told, construction in Linyi had already started under Lyu Bu’s very nose. At the moment, there were only stone quarries, brick kilns, and timber teams, along with other personnel carrying out on-site planning.

It wasn’t that Sun Qian looked down on Chen Gong and Lyu Bu, but he was sure that as long as he did not start work, no one would be able to tell what he was doing—not even Chen Gong, if he were at the site. This was a matter of specialized expertise.

"Upgrade it to the provincial capital level," Jia Xu said directly.

"If that’s the case, the construction period will be extended. Although it could still be completed before the end of the year, rush work would be needed," Sun Qian asked, puzzled, "A prefecture city level fortress is already one of the strongest. There’s no need for that, is there? All we need is a permanent defense position—even though that position is a city."

"That’s going to be the bridgehead for fighting Yuan Shao, and once it’s successfully built, it will sever Jizhou and Yanzhou. It may not seem obvious now, but it’s going to be extremely important for our future campaigns against Wei Commandery," Jia Xu said calmly, showing no contempt for Sun Qian’s seemingly foolish question.

"If that’s the case, provincial capital level is fine. But since it will serve as a bridgehead, we should build it with a triple-tier inner city structure. We will reconstruct the outer city for pure military defense, retrofit the middle city into Weng City, and reinforce the inner city, strengthening the foundations and the city walls. However, this has to be done step by step," Sun Qian considered it for a moment and said. He was now a true master of architecture.

"Then I’ll leave it to you. Get the inner city built before the end of the year," Jia Xu nodded repeatedly, telling Sun Qian to go ahead.

Upon learning the actual situation, Sun Qian could only abandon the original prefecture city construction plan and switch to a provincial capital construction plan. Fortunately, he had already reserved a lot of manpower and could command many of the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, so he wasn’t worried about a labor shortage.

Regarding the management of personnel movements, Sun Qian knew he definitely couldn’t direct hundreds of thousands of people without chaos, but since Chen Xi would be the commander, the movement and management of personnel in the rear would mainly be directed by Chen Xi, who had plenty of experience in this area.

[It seems that I need to build the road to Linyi first to ensure the transport of supplies.] Sun Qian held the map, first determining the positions of both sides, then began checking the inventory of supplies and quickly reached a conclusion.

Compared to the distance from Xiapi in Xuzhou to Mount Tai, the distance from Mount Tai to Fenggao to Linyi was only one-fifth of that, but Zhao Yun’s marching speed was inherently fast. Plus, with the transportation network built between Mount Tai and Xuzhou by Sun Qian, it took Zhao Yun only a month to get there with his troops.

"Yo, is that troop on the move over there?" Fa Zheng looked into the distance at the army on another prefecture road. It was too far away to see whose banner it was.

The truth is, Lu Xun was thoroughly worn out by Fa Zheng. On the way back to Mount Tai, Fa Zheng rushed back with only five or six guards, which gave Lu Xun such fright; if a band of thieves had emerged and slaughtered them all, it would have been a complete tragedy. Fortunately, they encountered no mountain bandits and thieves on their journey.

"The banner seems to have ’Zhao’ on it," Lu Xun stuck his head out and squinted for a long time before saying.

"’Zhao’? General Zhao, how come he’s back?" Fa Zheng asked, puzzled, and then narrowed his eyes, "Boyan, it seems we’ve returned at a timely moment. If I’m not mistaken, General Guan and General Zhang have been defeated by Lyu Bu. Let’s go over there."

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"It is quite timely, but the other side is marching. Is it really okay to approach? Are you close with him?" Lu Xun looked in the direction of Zhao Yun and said, impressed by the sight of the neatly ordered hundreds of cavalry. Hailing from Eastern Wu, this was Lu Xun’s first time seeing such elite cavalry.

"Very close," Fa Zheng shrugged and said. He was familiar with all of Liu Bei’s high-ranking generals, but the one he knew best was Zhao Yun—a long-time civil official, whom Fa Zheng had had many opportunities to interact with.

Lu Xun didn’t speak. Even if he didn’t know who Zhao Yun was or his exact official position, the fact that Zhao Yun could lead a well-organized legion, with such elite cavalry at the forefront, meant he was definitely a top commander under Liu Bei. Although Fa Zheng, as Prime Minister of Qi State, seemed far removed from such a powerful military figure in Lu Xun’s perception.

"Let’s go over, say hello. Weren’t you always worried about being ambushed? You’ll feel safer walking with an army," Fa Zheng’s tone clearly contained a tease.

Lu Xun, perhaps from living too long in Eastern Wu, and considering his family’s environment, couldn’t avoid dealing with river pirates. Therefore, he was very concerned about encountering bandits along the way.

In reality, there were no large-scale mountain bandits and thieves in Mount Tai at that time. After all, Liu Bei’s policies were extremely favorable; anyone willing to work could earn a living and some money without risking their lives in robbery.

"Let’s stop here." Fa Zheng ordered the coachman to pull the carriage over to the side of the provincial route. There was no choice, as the marching army took up the road wherever it went, a fact that was directly written into the law. No one would provoke it, and normally, it was suicidal to compete with troops for the road. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)