The next day, as soon as it got light, the manor began to bustle with activity.

  Many men, either willingly or unwillingly, were dragged away by Chen Qing and Qin Mo. One man refused to go and was struck on the head with a hatchet by Feng Qiu Nian, splitting the wooden board he was holding. The man could only follow him out in fear...

  In the yard, dozens of men were busy nailing planks together. Several craftsmen and Old Feng measured the size of the wooden boards with their eyes, then used planes and iron saws to trim them. Before long, a square wooden shield was made. Several farmers tied it up with straw ropes according to the craftsmens requirements, and then randomly applied mud mixed with well water on its surface...

  Nearly a hundred people, under the command of Yang Fan and Ye Bin, were sweeping away the dirt and filth in various parts of the village. Women and children were also using brooms to sweep out the trash from their homes, gradually gathering it into piles several meters in diameter. Dozens of men and women carried iron shovels and hoes, walking towards the outskirts of the village, digging large pits to bury the garbage that had been pulled out of the village. Although Ye Bin didnt understand the direct connection between dirt and disease, he was still delighted to see the village become clean and tidy...

  Yang Youhuai and Hu Zi led the mules, followed by dozens of women and children with their faces covered with coarse cloth, to the location pointed out by Liu Ce. They saw that the ground was full of yellowish-white hard blocks. "Is this what Brother Liu called raw ash? Whats the use of this stuff?" Yang Youhuai and Hu Zi looked bewildered, but still followed Liu Ces instructions and ordered everyone to collect them.

  "Stand up straight! Hold your guns tightly, and stand firmly!" In the empty space of Zhuangzi, 120 men were practicing their formation under Liu Ces guidance. However, this was more difficult than Liu Ce had anticipated. The soldiers in the Thick Earth Fortress had learned their formations so quickly because they were all seasoned veterans who had seen bloodshed before. They could become a fighting force in a very short period of time. But these civilians in front of him, who had never been soldiers before, would not be able to take shape even in twenty days, let alone two days. Many people couldnt even tell left from right. Liu Ce had no choice but to use the names of the people at the head and tail of each row as a standard, training them repeatedly. This was not all - Liu Ce also saw that these people were not very enthusiastic.

  "Stop it, stop!" Liu Ce couldnt bear to watch anymore and sat down on the steps with a thud. "Youre all just waiting to be killed by bandits! Look at you all, whats the difference between you and useless trash? Your wives and children are just waiting to be raped and cooked into meat soup. Youll die without being able to rest in peace, unable to find your own homes, and can only become wandering ghosts, suffering for generations to come!" Looking out at the fearful eyes of the crowd below, Liu Ce continued: "When the bandits come to kill us, we few will just pat our backsides and leave, and the bandits wont be able to do anything to us. But what about you? Youll watch as your wives and children are humiliated, watch as your parents are hung up and their flesh is torn off piece by piece, but youll be powerless to stop it. All you can do is kneel down in front of the bandits and beg for mercy, then have your heads chopped off and thrown onto the streets to be carried away by wild dogs. Do you want that? If so, then leave!"

  When Liu Ce said this, the people at the bottom were terrified. They had escaped to this manor relying on these highly skilled military uncles and heroes. If they all left, there was no doubt that they and their families would be dead.

  "General, dont go! If you leave, who will protect us?" A man finally spoke up to Liu Ce with a trembling voice. After all, this general had just arrived at the village yesterday and shared his own food with everyone to fill their bellies, and his martial arts skills were astonishing, almost on par with Feng Qius. With such a good person around, everyone felt a little more at ease. If he left, taking those bald men with him, then they would really have no way out. After all, nobody truly wanted to be killed by bandits.

  Liu Ce looked at the man with a slanted gaze and said slowly, "No one can save you, only you can save yourselves. Im teaching you the skills to defeat your enemies so that you can live on, even if its not for yourself, but for your wives and children who have suffered at the hands of bandits. You should learn diligently, in case were all gone, youll still have a way to survive in this chaotic world!" As he spoke, Liu Ce stood up: "Those willing to practice hard and not be cowards, stand up straight for me!"

  Everyone present immediately stood up straight, with a hint of determination in their eyes. Liu Ce nodded, and finally looked somewhat decent. He continued to practice the formation, instructing Sun Cheng, who was staring at him in shock: "Later, whoever is not serious will be beaten by me, remember to have some measure, hit them on the butt, dont use too much force, its not good to cripple someone." Sun Cheng came back to his senses and nodded, suddenly realizing that Liu Ce really thought he was the boss. He shook his head in self-mockery and began to help Liu Ce supervise the formation. The practice slowly started to take shape...

  At noon, a fragrance of rice wafted through the manor, "Time to eat!" Xu Hui and Qing Sao led several women and men pushing large wooden buckets towards the field, the crowd that had been busy all morning was already famished, and they eagerly pushed forward.

  "Crack!" A crisp whip cracked in the air, and everyone was startled. Liu Ce stood on top of the wall, shouting: "Line up! Women and children first! Anyone who fights again will be driven out with a stick!"

  Although many people were dissatisfied, they still lined up in several teams and let the elderly, women and children go first.

  Todays meal was still wild vegetable porridge, but it was much thicker than before, and there were also a sweet potato or two potatoes. The women who received the food bowed deeply to Liu Ce in gratitude, including the woman who had tempted Liu Ce yesterday, who brought her three-year-old son and bowed deeply, saying: "Son, remember that military officer on the platform, hes a good man..."

  Liu Ce watched as the women and children bowed to him one by one, his nose slightly sour, holding back tears that threatened to fall. He had truly become a part of this world now, with an added sense of responsibility.

  Qin Mos eyes sparkled with interest, and he glanced at Ye Bin beside him, seeing that he was also looking up at Liu Ce in the distance. He then came back to himself and exchanged a glance with Qin Mo.

  After lunch, everyone continued to work. With the energy from eating, their efficiency was much higher than in the morning when they were hungry. The trash inside the manor had almost been cleared up thanks to everyones efforts. Now, the women and children were wiping down the doors, windows, furniture, and other areas where they lived. Buckets of well water were being boiled in a large pot and then poured into clean ceramic jars. This was also Liu Ces instruction - only boiling water would prevent diarrhea. The trash outside the manor gate had almost been buried, and everyone couldnt believe that their living place could have so much trash! Looking at the clean and tidy manor, they suddenly felt very comfortable in their hearts. Over a hundred bags of quicklime were being carried into the manor by Yang You and others, and now they needed to be crushed and packed into small cloth bags. By evening, 130 square shields had been completed, coated with mud and sand, and stood on the ground waiting to dry.