Chapter Thirty-Six: Preparations

From the early chill of October through to December, this year Nanyang grew colder still, and snow began to fall. The construction of the village’s surface infrastructure was largely complete. In ancient times, the villagers were adept at both farming and building homes—essential skills everyone had to master. Each household became busy, and Shen Chen, during this period, guided them from the foundations to the construction itself. With just over a thousand people in the clan, around two hundred households, they needed to build two or three hundred houses.

As winter approached, Wang Yi and Deng Qi helped organize villagers from the surrounding areas of Xinye to assist with the labor. Huangmen Pavilion, grateful for their help, offered wages. Originally, this was organized by the county office and the township, so the neighboring villagers assumed it was forced labor. The unexpected wages greatly increased their enthusiasm, speeding up construction so much that the houses were finished within a month.

Next came digging cellars, tunnels, farmland, and irrigation canals. The villagers were still living off stored resources—fortunately, Shen Chen had acquired ample grain and supplies from Mi Zhu, selling part at high prices during his passage through Peiguo. Otherwise, they would have been left with only enough food to survive the winter.

Aside from the village construction, Shen Chen began preparations for building fortified shelters and tunnels, which were easy enough to dig. Since the Spring and Autumn period, when armies found it difficult to breach a city, they often resorted to tunneling; in two or three days, a passage could be excavated.

But designing the fortified shelters in hilly valleys posed challenges—choice of materials, size, and layout were all issues. Though such structures existed in the Han dynasty, the soil of Xiliang differed from that of Guandong. Whether Shen Chen could replicate the model he had seen in his previous life was uncertain.

After much contemplation, Shen Chen decided to construct cave dwellings, firing paper bricks, stacking them, and coating the exterior with rammed earth, sealed with lime mortar to increase adhesion. This was the technology used for city walls at the time, superior even to most county walls, which were simply rammed earth without bricks. The famous “Qin bricks, Han tiles” had appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn period, but the firing technique was still lacking.

Having worked in design in his past life, Shen Chen had encountered all kinds of architecture. He had even discovered traces of primitive cave dwellings and blast furnaces from the early days of the founding of modern China in rural areas. Although these techniques could not compare with the industrial civilization of the modern era, they represented the peak of feudal technology from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

At least in the Han dynasty, the bricks and ceramics produced in Shen Chen’s designed cave dwellings were more exquisite and durable. Ironware produced in the blast furnaces was of high quality, with fewer impurities. This was merely his concept for now, as the urgent matter remained the survival of the village and securing basic infrastructure.

Thus, for the moment, they focused on finishing the surface work, building houses, repairing outhouses, digging irrigation canals, and reclaiming farmland. Each household needed new land allocations.

From the hillside, one could see hundreds of brand-new houses scattered over several miles. Designing the layout was no simple task, as the land had to be close to the houses for convenience, and other functions such as gardening and animal husbandry needed to be considered.

Gathering all villagers in one place would make land allocation problematic. Some fields would be far, leading to complaints from those assigned them. Thus, the houses were scattered in a staggered pattern.

Fortunately, the plains offered vast land. Though villagers lived separately, there was unified planning and careful placement for each household. By the following January, as spring approached and basic infrastructure was completed, Shen Chen began planning the construction of cave dwellings and blast furnaces.

According to his agreement with Liu Biao, he would go to Xiangyang after the clan was settled. Now, with only initial land reclamation underway, they still needed a large amount of farming tools, seeds, and other supplies, so time remained ample.

Deng Hong made another trip to Xiangyang, procuring some production tools, though not enough. Ultimately, he had to turn to Liu Biao for help. These items were strategic materials, expensive on the market, but Liu Biao’s treasury had reserves, so they had to rely on his generosity.

Liu Biao proved generous, gifting them essential supplies, allowing the elders of Huangmen Pavilion to commence production.

Shen Chen instructed the villagers to collect animal dung, bones, human waste, fire ash from plants, and gray from bellflowers. All excrement from humans and livestock was brought to the outhouses, mixed with water in proper proportions to produce manure.

After two or three months of fermentation, the villagers found the smell almost unbearable. Before the Southern Song, there was no composting technique; waste was disposed of outdoors. Now, with outhouses inside homes, discomfort was inevitable.

Yet Shen Chen insisted that such fertilizer enhanced soil fertility, boosting crop yields. Though skeptical, the villagers followed his instructions, digging outhouses and irrigating their fields with manure.

By spring, the elders of Huangmen Pavilion had reclaimed over ten thousand acres of land, dug fish ponds, and acquired pigs, cattle, and sheep—thus beginning a new life.

Meanwhile, Shen Chen gathered the village’s strong men. Every evening, after the day’s work, they labored overtime, digging cave dwellings and constructing blast furnaces in the mountain valleys.

With these facilities, they could fire bricks and ceramics, refine steel, and forge superior farming tools and weapons.

Fortunately, coal was widespread throughout the country, though Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong produced the most. Nanyang basin also had coal mines near Sand River, where the elders lived—not large mines, but sufficient.

Shen Chen had everyone continue reclaiming farmland and irrigating millet seedlings with manure during the day, then fire bricks and ceramics in the cave dwellings at night, collecting all clan ironware for reforging by the blacksmiths.

Still, only ordinary farming tools were produced; inventions such as the curved plow, water wheel, or dragon backbone water cart had not yet appeared. Those were used for paddy fields, but the Nanyang basin’s farming methods resembled those of the Yellow River region, relying mainly on dry fields, with spring millet and autumn wheat—too much water would drown the seedlings.

Thus, after more than three months, the millet seedlings matured. Through careful cultivation and irrigation, the millet grown by Huangmen Pavilion yielded an astonishing 40% increase, surpassing any previous year.

This news greatly inspired the villagers, dispelling their dissatisfaction with Shen Chen’s methods and filling them with admiration and blind faith.

But Shen Chen knew that this 40% increase came from strong soil and the first use of composting technology. Yields would drop in subsequent years, eventually stabilizing.

Based on his past knowledge, without chemical fertilizer, composting alone could boost yields by up to 20%, typically between 10% and 20%. Only chemical fertilizer was truly revolutionary.

By April, the village was fully formed. The villagers settled in, and construction of tunnels, bunkers, and fortified shelters proceeded methodically. Everything was on track.

Liu Biao had previously said that once the clan was settled, Deng Hong would go to Xiangyang for his appointment. Now, the time had come.

Before departing, Shen Chen convened another meeting—not in the shacks at the foot of the mountain, but in the newly built ancestral hall of the Deng clan. This time, he sat at the head, with several elder uncles seated beneath him.

Looking around, Shen Chen spoke first, “Uncles, now that the clan is settled, Sixth Uncle and I must go to Xiangyang. But Nanyang is not peaceful. To ensure our clan stands in the world and our lives are not in others’ hands, we must strengthen ourselves.”

Deng Mao asked, “A Chen, what do you plan?”

“I intend to train soldiers.”

Shen Chen continued, “I built tunnels, bunkers, and fortified shelters to prevent attacks on our village. Banditry plagues Nanyang, and our prosperity may draw raids. How can we lack the means to defend ourselves?”

Deng Mao hesitated, “Training soldiers means the strong men must drill daily, but everyone must tend their fields. Where will they find the time?”

It was a significant problem.

Huangmen Pavilion had just over a thousand people—especially after Cao Ren’s night raid, which killed or wounded over two hundred. Aside from a hundred at Zengyang, another hundred were young strong men—a huge blow to the clan.

Now, those aged fifteen to fifty comprised eighty percent of the workforce; subtracting women, only forty percent, and those suitable for soldier training only twenty percent—about two hundred men.

These were the clan’s conscripts, briefly trained during the migration to protect the clan. Once settled, they became the main labor force.

If they were trained as soldiers, who would farm?

Shen Chen had considered this, and said gravely, “I do not intend to make the entire clan soldiers—just fifty men. For every twenty villagers, we support one soldier, fully armed and rigorously trained, choosing only the most daring and fierce, so that we have true fighting power.”

Deng Mao was doubtful, “Fifty men? What use is that? Besides, we are now under Liu Jingzhou’s protection; is training militia still necessary?”

“To develop, it is necessary.”

Shen Chen spoke firmly, “The mountains near Nanyang shelter many remnants of the Yellow Turbans. We can take in refugees, attack small forces, relocate their people, and spread our model, gradually occupying surrounding lands, gathering people into towns, growing step by step. Now we start with fifty men—one day, it will be five hundred, five thousand, and then let’s see who dares challenge us!”

Deng Mao and the others exchanged glances.

Their nephew had great ambition. Now, after settling in, to suddenly train soldiers—who knew if the villagers would agree?

Yet, unlike the villagers content with small comforts, these elders had read a few books and gained insight. They understood that in this chaotic age, lacking their own strength meant any warlord could send a couple thousand troops to wipe out their clan. Seeing Shen Chen’s determination and ambition, none tried to dissuade him. They all agreed and left it to him to carry out.