Xu Fuqing is stationed in Zhenshuo Fort to do things, but Xu Xingxia has to run separately. Leaving his father's side, Xu Xingxia came to Gao Zhengcheng. The negotiations on Chi Hu's side are related to the fate of more than 20,000 Han slaves, and a lot of prerequisite work must be done. These Han slaves, after returning to Zhenshuo Fort, must have needed a place to live. Even if there is no brick house, a thatched house must be given. Therefore, the task of building houses in Zhenshuo Fort is very arduous.

Gao Zhengcheng was also busy, his forehead was sweating, and it was estimated that he didn't even have a chance to breathe. It's November weather, and he's still wearing broken sleeves. The problem of labor shortage is particularly obvious in urban construction. In the era when there was no modern machinery, all construction had to rely on the hands of workers. No matter how rich Xu Xingxia is, it is impossible to catch so many laborers at once. Besides, in terms of wages, two taels of silver a month is already the limit. Only foremen and the like can get more than three taels of silver.

"Thousands of households...... saw Xu Xingxia coming, and Gao Zhengcheng hurriedly reported the general construction progress of the house. Due to the tight schedule and the severe shortage of labor, it is simply impossible to build so many houses at once. Even one thatched hut per person is not enough. Therefore, Gao Zhengcheng thought of the big shed.

The so-called big shed is a large shop made of wood and thatch. Each person occupies only one bed and nothing else. This is the fastest, lowest cost, and least technically difficult home. A long row of large sheds that can accommodate hundreds of people. As long as there are dozens of rows of large sheds, all the slaves can be placed.

Of course, the living conditions of such a large shed are very simple. You can't do anything but get some sleep at night. In the middle of winter, even the cold wind can't cover it. However, there is no way around it. Plans are not as fast as change, no one could have imagined that the population of Zhenshuo Fort would increase so quickly.

If calligraphy was purely from the perspective of residence, Xu Xingxia was even willing to agree to the Tatar people's request to postpone the return of the slaves by two months. In this way, Fort Zhenshuo has more time to build more houses. However, from a strategic point of view, this is absolutely impossible. Therefore, the progress of the house can not be delayed.

"A big shed is a big shed!" After Xu Xingxia read it, he made a final decision.

It is true that the big sheds are too simple to live in for a long time. However, he believed that for the slaves who had been freed, even if they lived in a large hut temporarily, they were much happier than before. As long as you can get rid of the bitter sea of Tartar, what is such a price? Unless it is the kind of perverted who is willing to make cattle and horses for others, and there are sadistic people, they will be willing to continue to stay on the Tartar side and not come back. The slaves who came back wanted to live in a better house in the future, so they had to rely on their own hands to fight for it.

…… After Gao Zhengcheng, Xu Xingxia went to each of the 100 households of the management committee one by one to check the progress of the work. Most of the work, the progress is quite satisfactory, and the work of the hundreds of households is quite high. With their presence, Xu Xingxia's instructions can basically be implemented quickly. Even if there is an occasional small mistake, it is an unintentional mistake.

In the past, the military families had been in the nest for most of their lives, and they had no money at all. Now, there's a great opportunity in front of them, and if they don't try to seize it, they're really stupid. Therefore, the six hundred households of the stewardship committee are all working very hard. Their fate has been firmly tied to Xu Xingxia, if Xu Xingxia suffers a defeat, what awaits them is also an extremely tragic result.

Because there are indeed too many things that the stewardship needs to govern, there are thousands of things, miscellaneous things, and six hundred households, which cannot meet the needs at all. The Board of Governors must be expanded. So, after careful consideration, Xu Xingxia promoted five more people to 100 households. These five people are Huang Xiaoning, Chen Wenyuan, Hu Yishan, Gao Zaixing, and Sun Mo.

Among them, Huang Xiaoning and Chen Wenyuan used to work directly for Xu Xingxia. One is in charge of red bricks, the other is in charge of wood, and now the two of them have been promoted to 100 households, and they are still in charge of the original errands. Since Zhenshuo Fort, the Black Mountain Battalion, and Zhenyuan Pass all require a large amount of red bricks and wood, the task shouldered by the two is still quite heavy.

In addition, there is a cement, which is also a heavy production task. Cement has no technical content, that is, there is a lot of heavy work, and it is difficult for ordinary labor to bear. It must be the kind of labor force that is very strong, and a person can at least carry a hundred and ten pounds on his shoulder. After the cement is produced, it also needs a lot of labor to be transported to various places. Even if a carriage is loaded with 500 catties of cement, hundreds of carriages must be dispatched every day.

Hu Yishan is the leader of the foreign military household, and it turned out to be the general banner. Speaking of his story, it is almost as long as a piece of cloth. He was a military household in Beizhili, and because he offended his boss, he fled all the way to Ningxia Town, so he had a chance to live. Beizhili is close to the feet of the Son of Heaven and close to Liaodong, and he knows a lot of news, but he can't tell the truth from the fake.

Gao Zaixing turned out to be the general flag and an expert in raising horses. He was originally a military household in Zhenshuo Fort, and when Mo Yuegen attacked, he happened to be not in the fort, and he was lucky to avoid a catastrophe. As there are more and more military horses under the white-clothed army, there are more and more wranglers in need, and it turns out that only Zhang Yunda and a hundred households are holding it, and they are no longer busy.

Sun Mo is the representative of the remaining military households in Zhenshuo Fort. When Mo Yuegen attacked, he was also absent from the fort, and he was lucky enough to avoid a catastrophe. Almost all the military households in Zhenshuo Fort died, and he was the only one who survived. His wife and children all died by the sword of the Tartars. Every time he spoke of the Tartars' atrocities, he choked up and couldn't control himself.

There will be eleven and one hundred households in the stewards. Xu Xingxia stipulated the operation of the board of directors in accordance with the method of the Standing Committee of later generations. Of the eleven hundred, as long as six hundred are in favor of something, the matter is considered to have passed. The appointment of personnel under the authority of the Board of Governors also takes the form of a minority that must be subordinated to the majority.

Basically, in Zhenshuobao, the Stewardship Council has become the main body that governs all internal affairs. Under Xu Xingxia, there is no one else who can be in charge of the overall situation. The other health centers are all in charge of two deputy thousand households, and only in the Zuotun Weihou Thousand Households under the jurisdiction of Xu Xingxia has all the systems been greatly changed. Yu Lijun, a deputy thousand households, is actually equivalent to experience, mainly engaged in clerical coordination.

There is another vacancy for deputy thousand households, Xu Xingxia has made it clear that he will not appoint any deputy thousand households. Even if the upper authorities are forcefully apportioned, Zhenshuo Fort will not accept it. This means that he, the thousand households, will directly govern all the hundred households, and no longer need to go through the level of deputy thousand households. Similarly, every hundred households in Zhenshuo Fort are directly responsible for Xu Xingxia, and they no longer need to consider the complexion of the deputy thousand households.

Such a structure, to a large extent, concentrates the ultimate power in Xu Xingxia's hands. Without his approval Xu Xingxia, the hundred households would not have the right to do deviant things. Nor can anyone pose a threat to his power, Xu Xingxia. This is very similar to Zhu Yuanzhang's decision to abolish the prime minister. Its prerequisite is that Xu Xingxia's ability to handle things is strong enough and he is at ease enough with the people under him. Without these two conditions, it would definitely not be possible. For the time being, it's not a big problem.

…… At the end of November, Xu Xingxia squatted in the craftsman's workshop. The process of manufacturing rifling is already relatively proficient. However, due to technical limitations, it is still impossible to do a very good rifling. Even if we keep improving, the accuracy of the moon gun and the error in the distance of 100 meters are still about one foot. Compared to a smoothbore gun, such an accuracy is quite good. However, compared to the firearms of later generations, such accuracy is simply miserable.

The manufacturing process of the moon gun has been gradually improved according to the application feedback of the actual combat. The strap made of linen has been improved to be more suitable for carrying. Improved crosshair and illumination to make aiming easier. The shape of the bayonet has been improved and has become lighter. Improved the way Minnie bullets are carried, allowing you to carry more ammo.

…… The reconstruction of Zhenshuo Fort has entered a state of full swing. Over there, the negotiations with the Tatars were also quite intense. As the plenipotentiary appointed by Xu Xingxia, Chi Hu and Sobud, the negotiator of the Kylekin tribe, have already started a series of negotiations. The place of the negotiations between the two sides is on the Gobi Desert north of Zhenyuan Pass.

There is no doubt that the Tatars did want to stall for time, to buy more time for waging war. However, under pressure from the White Coats, Sobud had to give in. Eventually, it was decided that at the end of December, the exchange of hostages would continue at Zhenyuan Pass. The Whites freed Gugrad, and the Tatars freed 23,000 Han Chinese slaves.

Soon it was mid-December, and another batch of moon guns was delivered to the white-clothed army. The number of musketeers in the White Army increased further. At present, the white-clothed army, not counting the scattered eagle cavalry army, already has nine squads, a full 600 people. If you count the Eagle Cavalry, the number is more than seven hundred. The combat capability of the artillery battalion and the tank battalion has also been improved.

With the progress of negotiations between the two sides, the atmosphere of war in the vicinity of Zhenyuan Pass has become very strong. In the north, there are sporadic appearances of Tartars. In the south, all the preparations of the white-clothed army were carried out in an intense and orderly manner. Whether it is Xu Xingxia or Hellerkin, they are sharpening their knives to pigs and sheep.

On this day, Xu Xingxia rushed to Zhenyuan Pass to listen to Chi Hu's report. Scout Captain Myeong-ho was also on the side. According to Ming Hao's report, the Tartar scouts of the Helkin tribe have been very active recently, often appearing in groups near Zhenyuan Pass, and it is estimated that the large army of Tartars should soon move south. It's really the beginning of the stream and the clouds are sinking in the pavilion, and the mountain rain is about to come and the wind is full of buildings!

(To be continued)