Since Art brought back a large amount of food, everyone in the Valley Wooden Castle has become much more at ease.

The half-completed valley land reclamation task came to a halt when the land was completely frozen into an iron plate and could not be hoeed. Cooper followed Art's previous plan and began to open up the carriageway between the wooden castle and the edge of the northern dense forest, in order to

In order to shorten the construction period and reduce the amount of work, Cooper and Bud set out from the wooden castle to draw the shortest and smoothest route to the edge of the northern dense forest.

So on the seventh day after Ate and the others returned to the wooden castle with food, the massive road construction project officially started. Most of the farmers and women in the wooden castle who were idle due to the frozen land devoted themselves to the work of opening the carriageway.

.

They were divided into three batches. One group followed the route marked by Cooper and cut down the trees and weeds along the way. The second group was responsible for clearing the roots of the trees and weeds and digging out the bumps on the ground to fill in the depressions.

Finally, the third group of people beat the ground with heavy wooden piles to compact the ground tightly.

According to Cooper, this method of road construction is the fastest and easiest way. If you are a little more particular, the carriageway must be laid with rough stones, the gravel must be leveled, and drainage ditches must be dug on both sides of the road. However, considering the lack of manpower,

, it was difficult and expensive to remove stones, so Art adopted the simplest and most direct method of road construction. Even with this simplest method, the progress was very slow.

While the carriage path was being opened, the construction of the wooden castle continued.

In order to shell wheat, the farmers worked together to make a simple stone mill, and built a small mill and bread oven next to the kitchen;

In Art's private courtyard, he built a sturdy log barn with a thatched roof using the wood cut for road construction. Bud, the old carpenter who helped Cooper direct the construction of the carriageway, was called back to the wooden castle by Art.

He was specifically responsible for making several simple and thick wooden bucklers and ten short iron-tipped spears from high-quality wood such as oak and ash trees cut down for road construction.

The peasant women in the castle who knew simple sewing also rushed to make a batch of black robes and cloaks under the leadership of Emma.

Almost everyone in the wooden castle participated in the construction work in full swing, with the exception of the four Odoron people.

In order to improve the actual combat capabilities of the four of them, Art would take the four of them to practice basic riding skills, battle fighting, and shield and spear formations in front of the wooden castle every day. In addition, Art fully absorbed the skills of Odo and Baskazak.

The formation for manual group fighting was improved and used as one of the daily training items for several people.

This improved three-person battle formation consists of a courageous main attacker holding a contradiction or a sword, an ax and a hammer in front, and two assists holding a contradiction sword behind. When the three-person battle formation attacks, one person takes the lead, and the two cooperate to cover and attack the enemy formation.

When encountering a strong enemy, the backrest is retracted for defense, and the weapons in hand are combined with the round shield. The performance in actual combat is very good. This three-person formation does not require high personal force, but it requires high coordination ability among the three people.

.

Every morning, Art would lead four people to fight with each other with long and short wooden sticks to practice personal combat skills. In the afternoon, Art would train three-person combat formations and short spear and round shield offensive and defensive formations. In the evening, Art would try to continue teaching a few people how to read.

General literature and some simple military strategies...

Just like this, they have been training repeatedly every day for more than a month. The Odo people have made great progress in both their personal combat skills and formation coordination. At least they are no longer relying on the strength of a brute man to rush in with blood and courage.

Worker. According to Bass, if they were to fight with those guild gangsters now, the three of them could easily knock down seven or eight...

…………

That night, in Art's wooden house, everyone in Otto sitting around the wooden table yawned and listened to Art's boring lecture, "I talked about personal combat skills training last night, and I will tell you again today.

Talk about battle formation coordination and military discipline.

I believe you all have experienced that during this period of training, if you fight against me alone, I can defeat almost all of you. That's because I have been training in personal combat skills since I was a child. I know how to use the simplest weapons.

The method is to kill the opponent, but you were just laborers and farmers not long ago, and your personal combat skills cannot be greatly improved in a short period of time.

Before, the three of you, Odo, were very powerful among Lucese's warriors because your opponents were also warriors who had never been trained. They didn't understand combat skills, and they all had room for attack, so they were strong.

Point it out, and those who dare to fight hard can always take advantage."

"But once you actually face off against bandits, bandits, and bandits, your strength and bravery will not be your absolute advantage, because your opponents are all desperadoes who have been fighting for years, and some are even from the army.

The guys who escaped are more brave than you, and they often know how to kill you with one move.

Therefore, when facing opponents with more powerful combat skills than you, battle formation coordination is particularly important. Think carefully about the times you defeated me during this period, were they all achieved through close and tacit battle formation coordination? Especially

It's Odobas and Kazzak's three-person battle formation. Odo is charging forward, Kazzak and Basz are covering from behind. When you're strong, you'll attack all at once. When you're weak, you'll huddle up and defend. I'll attack any of you.

Each person will face the attacks of the other two with swords, axes, spears and hammers..."

"In addition, when facing a large enemy force, we must skillfully use a spear (sword) and shield line formation. This formation can withstand the enemy's first wave of desperate charges, and then disperse into three after the enemy's charge is blocked.

The human battle formation will counterattack..."

Bass, Kazak and Ron, who were sitting around the table, were confused. They knew that the daily training formations were very useful in actual combat, but they could not understand the formation coordination theory that Art said.

However, Odo began to understand the difference between group fights and military battles. After listening to Art's teaching, he realized that the reason why he was able to defeat a large number of opponents with Bass and Kazak was not all because of their strength.

They dared to fight, but because compared with the opponents who rushed forward in a hurry, the few of them still had some coordination in the battle formation.

Art's voice continued to sound, and Odo came back from his thoughts.

"After talking about battle formation coordination, let's talk about military discipline.

Strictly speaking, we are not yet an army, and the patrol team we are about to form is just a militia security team to arrest thieves and defend against barbarians, but we still need to have the discipline of an army.

I think you will never forget the experience of being chased by that group of bandits in the woods! I always felt that those bandits were not ordinary people. They must have escaped from the army. At least there were soldiers in the army as the backbone of the elite. They stayed with us throughout the chase.

It lasted all afternoon!! Think about it, if there was no absolute discipline, how could those bastards chase after them so hard?"

"You may ask me what military discipline is? For those bandits, military discipline means that once the leader gives an order, you have to continue chasing even if you run to death. After we formally form a patrol team in the future, everyone must also abide by military discipline -

-If I ask you to charge, you will have to advance even if there is a rain of arrows and spears; if I ask you to retreat, you will have to retreat even if you have mountains of gold and silver. I ask you this, and you will ask your soldiers the same in the future... You must know that I have more than just temptations here.

food, military pay, and sharp steel knives used for execution..."

Everyone may not have a thorough understanding of military discipline, but they will never forget that day when they were chased by bandits for an entire afternoon, and they were simple people who believed that eating people's food and taking people's pay should obey orders.

Otto said loudly: "What you say makes sense, sir. Just like when we fought in groups before, if you guys didn't listen to me and didn't go up when you should go up or run away when you should run away, then we would have been defeated by Lu Ze."

Sean's guild gangsters have been driven out of the city, so now we will absolutely obey your orders!!"

"Yes, although I don't know what military discipline is, I will rush if you tell me to, and I will retreat if you tell me to retreat." Bass responded positively, and Ron and Kazak also expressed their opinions.

…………

The ice on the stream in front of the castle began to thin, and the coldest period of late winter was over.

As the frozen soil in the valley began to soften, Cooper stopped building the carriageway and turned his focus back to plowing the newly reclaimed wasteland.

As the weather began to get warmer, Art, who had been nesting in the wooden castle in the valley for half the winter, also decided to go out and form a patrol team.

One evening at the end of winter, Art called Cooper, Odoron, Lawrence and Scott to a wooden house in a single courtyard and held a simple banquet.

At the end of the banquet, Art said to everyone: "Everyone, two years ago today, this place could not be called a wooden castle, because there was only a broken wooden house and a living forest hunter; one year ago today, the old housekeeper Cooper came

Thanks to his hard work, the dilapidated wooden house became the current wooden castle with two wooden houses, a stable and a stable of pigs and sheep;

Today, there are five or six wooden houses, more than 40 people, and a large area of ​​fertile land... The most important thing is that there is hope in the wooden castle, and everyone can see that peaceful and prosperous days are beckoning. And all of this is

The result of the hard work led by all of you here.”

Everyone listened quietly, especially Cooper, who was one of the witnesses of this wooden castle in the valley and shared the same glory as this wooden castle.

Art continued: "You are all my most trusted people, and Valley Wooden Castle needs your continued efforts."

"Scott and Lawrence, you will be mainly responsible for assisting the old steward in getting things done in the valley from now on. In particular, you need to take the lead in plowing and sowing the newly reclaimed land."

"Lawrence, in addition to taking the lead in doing things in the farmland, you also have to be responsible for the safety of everyone in the wooden castle. This time the old carpenter rushed to make a batch of short spears and wooden shields. I will keep some. I will start from tomorrow.

Select a few brave and strong men from the fort residents to form a fort protection team. You will be the captain of the fort protection team. The team members usually farm the fields. In their free time, you will lead everyone to patrol the surrounding area. I give permission to the fort protection team.

Go into the mountains to hunt wild animals.

The other members of the fort defense team individually receive fifteen pounds of food from the wooden castle as compensation every month. As the captain, you receive twenty pounds of food every month. Scott also joined the fort protection team, and the other team members started from that time.

Choose three of the guys who join the refugee escort."

After arranging for Lawrence and Scott, Art turned his attention to old Cooper and said: "Cooper, just like last time, you will be responsible for all matters in the wooden castle while I am out. In addition, you will be responsible for all matters in the wooden castle while I am away.

After plowing the newly cultivated land, you must immediately organize people to go to various villages and settlements south of Tyniec to buy wheat seeds. We still have 2,500 pfennigs. This time I will leave you 1,500 pfennigs.

, you have to buy a batch of wheat seeds before spring planting, otherwise when spring comes and the refugee bandits come out to move around, food will not be so easy to buy. As for the remaining wheat seeds, I will think of something else."

"Don't go to Lane Manor. I have been to other villages and settlements and talked with the local lords and squires. Then you can tell them that they are the people sent by the Southern Border Patrol Officer Art to buy food. They will help

The wheat seeds have been transported to the edge of the northern dense forest. Lawrence, when the time comes, you will take the fort defense team and go with the old butler."

After giving instructions on everything in the valley, Art turned the topic to the formation of the patrol team.

"Odo, this time we are going to the northern border area of ​​Provence to recruit patrol soldiers. You will also go to the warehouse to prepare weapons and equipment for ten people and food supplies for fifteen people for a month. We will set off tomorrow afternoon."

Everyone promised to go and prepare separately, and there was no conversation all night.

At noon the next day, Cooper, Lawrence, and Scott who stayed behind in the fort helped Art and his party carry weapons and food to the edge of the northern dense forest. This time Art took away the green mules and bay-red horses, and even

The carriage parked at the edge of the jungle also contained 500 pounds of shelled barley, ten iron spears, fifteen homemade simple wooden black bucklers, ten sets of black robes and cloaks, as well as some swords, axes, hammers and felt blankets.

Cooking utensils and other items. At the same time, Art and Odo were also fully armed and wore black robes and cloaks.
Chapter completed!