Unknown Knight

Soon the news that Fort Standstill had found a water source spread to nearby settlements and the city of Zion. In order to prevent other forces from coveting it, especially the largest force nearby, the city of Zion, Aix made strengthening the city's defense his top priority.

When plastering the stone joints of the exterior wall, Aix discovered that after adding water to the soil dug out of the mound and solidifying it evenly, and then being exposed to the desert sun, it became very solid, somewhat similar to the hardness of ordinary sand bricks.

Now that there is an abundant water supply, he simply has people use water to mix rammed earth during construction. He mixes the water and earth evenly in wooden molds, and then exposes them to the scorching sun in the desert. The final city wall is extremely strong, comparable to a stone wall.

Now there is sufficient manpower, with up to 200 people assigned to build the city wall every day. Almost all the required materials are locally available, so the progress of the city wall construction is very fast. Soon the four areas planned outside the mound have taken shape.

Aix decided to increase the height of all the city walls by another two meters, reaching a height of seven meters. Even if someone came to attack the city now, such high walls would be enough to cause them trouble.

Another major project in the territory is to reclaim wasteland. Now that there is water, the conditions of rain and heat are available at the same time, so all crops can grow well. Coupled with the organic fertilizer that James is responsible for promoting, it is estimated that the per-acre yield here is at least one-third to one-half higher than that of Zion City.

Although it would take at least four months to harvest food, it was something that had to be done right now if the core issue was not to be controlled by others. There were more than 1,200 people in the territory, and being able to produce food by themselves would not only provide jobs for the excess labor force, but also help to stabilize people's hearts.

The soil in the Gobi Desert is not as poor as imagined. It is rich in various minerals and is particularly conducive to the growth of fruits and tuber-bearing crops, such as watermelon, Hami melon, potato, yam, and sweet potato. As long as they are given enough water, these crops will grow well.

Moreover, these crops have a short growth cycle, high yield, are drought-resistant, and have strong adaptability to the environment. They are exactly the types of crops that the territory urgently needs.

With the concerted efforts of all the staff, after more than half a month of hard work, more than 500 acres of land were reclaimed. In fact, it is relatively easy to reclaim land in the Gobi Desert. Unlike other places, there are shrubs and weeds with well-developed root systems that need to be cleared. It is not enough to just burn them, and the roots must be dug out bit by bit.

Land reclamation in the Gobi Desert mainly involves clearing the scattered stones on the surface. The large ones are taken away with carts for use in city construction, and the small ones are left directly on the ground. Planting crops in the land full of stones is also a major feature of this place.

These newly reclaimed lands are mainly concentrated near the water diversion tunnels, where there are vertical shafts every fifty meters, which can be used for irrigation. With the nourishment of water, seedlings soon grow on the land, and the growth is gratifying.

In addition, there is no shortage of water, and the territory's manna beer production has also begun to increase. The sales of manna are very good, and now the beer workshops in Zion City are almost bankrupt. Almost no one is willing to buy the beer they produce.

Even Ogbai Roger praised the nectar sent by Aix after tasting it. He said he would no longer buy the beer produced in Zion City. He ordered fifty barrels of beer from here every month and became the largest customer of nectar.

With the sweet water source, Fort Standstill became even more famous. Not only was there no entrance fee for trading here, but people entering the city could also get free water. Even the commission was reduced by nearly half. In addition, the various markets in the city were clearly divided, the streets were clean and tidy, and all prices were lower than in Zion.

This series of benefits made the residents of the surrounding settlements and the Bedouins scattered in the desert no longer willing to go to Zion to trade, and instead they gathered here to trade.

This also enriched the supplies circulating in the city. All kinds of goods, as long as they were produced within a radius of several hundred miles, could be bought here, including the things that Aix had been dreaming about day and night.

That day, Aix was strolling in the city accompanied by Niza and Bestur. When they came to the grocery trading area, they found a man selling coal, and he immediately became interested.

It turned out that the city was seriously short of firewood. The area was surrounded by desert with very few plants growing, so even firewood for cooking was in short supply. In addition, a large amount of firewood was needed to make nectar and snow salt. At one point, everyone even gave up the habit of boiling water. The city also bought any combustible materials at high prices, even drying animal manure for use.

The price of firewood and animal dung cakes here is three times that of Zion City, making the sale of firewood to the city a profitable business. Many people specialize in bringing combustibles to the city to sell, but even this is not enough to meet the needs of the city. This shortcoming has seriously restricted various production in the city.

The Bedouin man that Aix met today might have been jealous of the firewood business, so he brought the coal that was unique to his home to try. The coal near his home had a disadvantage, which was that it produced a lot of smoke when burned. Normally, he didn't use it much and would rather use clean animal dung cakes.

The reason he brought it here was to give it a try and see if it could be sold. However, no one in the city knew about this thing, and he was not good at talking. The morning was almost over and no one was interested in it. He was feeling discouraged when his God of Wealth came.

Seeing that Aix was interested, he used all his language power and said to Aix stumblingly:

"Master, these stones are really good stuff. They burn longer than firewood. Each bag is only sold for the price of half a bundle of firewood."

Seeing his eager expression to sell the goods, Aix did not bother to laugh at him in his heart for breaking a big taboo for merchants, but asked him directly where the black stone came from.

This person was also an honest man. He said directly that he picked it up near his own ranch. Aix then asked him if he was willing to sell his ranch, which made this honest Bedouin embarrassed.

To be honest, nomads have no concept of territory, especially those in the desert. If the desert pastures where they live are eaten up by livestock one day, they will migrate away without any regrets, and may never return to this pasture in their lifetime.

Seeing that Aix, who was dressed elegantly and had a good appearance, was looking at him seriously and didn't seem to be joking, the honest Bedouin swallowed his saliva and tried to make a high price:

"Ten, twelve gold coins."

This is his entire fortune, mainly the estimated value of the camels and sheep he raises. He also said that if Aix really thinks it is too expensive, it is not impossible to negotiate.

But he didn't expect that Aix just hesitated for a moment and then readily agreed to his request.

From then on, another pillar industry of the territory was born at Black Rock Beach, fifty miles away from Fort Standstill.