Residence
Meanwhile, some completed areas, such as barracks and warehouses, can be put into use as soon as possible to relieve the pressure on the main fortress and allow the displaced people who participated in the construction to see tangible results, thus boosting morale.
Thanks to the "Karl Judgement" operation and the continuous publicity that attracted a steady stream of migrants who provided an almost unlimited supply of cheap labor, the Tunbao, named "Stockaded Village Number One," had already taken shape and displayed a clear and orderly layout in just one month.
Morr personally oversaw the planning and design, and the entire Tunbao was laid out in a clear and square "cross" shape with two rammed earth main roads about ten steps wide intersecting perpendicularly, neatly dividing the area inside the fort into four quadrants with clear functions and no interference between them.
At the southwest corner of the intersection lies a fully-equipped military barracks area.
Five spacious and sturdy stone and wood barracks have already been built here.
The lower half of the barracks walls were made of locally sourced rubble, while the upper half and roof were constructed from heavy logs.
Each barracks features a communal sleeping area, a heated hearth, and ventilation openings, and is designed to comfortably accommodate a platoon of soldiers.
In addition, there were five relatively independent, smaller but more fully equipped barracks for use by Platoon Leader, instructors and other junior officers, reflecting the initial distinctions in rank.
The barracks also included communal brick and stone bathhouses and public toilets. Morr specifically emphasized the importance of basic living and hygiene conditions, which were crucial for maintaining the health of the troops and preventing disease outbreaks.
What made some of the soldiers stationed there even more curious, and even somewhat resistant and uncomfortable, was that Karl had specifically ordered the establishment of a special "lecture hall" in the heart of the barracks.
This is a relatively independent, well-lit wooden cabin, furnished with simple long wooden tables and benches, and rough wooden boards hanging on the walls for writing.
Karl mandated that all soldiers stationed at Stockaded Village Number One must take turns attending the "lecture hall" to participate in basic cultural learning during their spare time from training and duty.
The teachers were a small number of literate people that Edgar had recruited from among the refugees.
The course content is extremely basic, covering recognizing hundreds of commonly used characters, writing one's own name and simple sentences, and mastering the most basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operations.
Karl's goal was clear: he needed the prototype of a "modern" army that could not only charge into battle, but also understand complex orders, operate relatively sophisticated machinery, and even have some paperwork skills.
Improving the literacy rate and basic literacy of the army lays a long-term foundation for equipping the army with more complex weapons and receiving more complex tactical commands in the future. Although it may be met with complaints from some rude soldiers in the short term, Karl is determined to persevere.
At the southeast and northeast corners of the intersection are planned residential areas.
The foundation in the southeast corner has been laid, and workers are working hard to excavate the foundation and move stones, preparing to start large-scale construction.
In the northeast corner, thanks to priority construction, more than 30 uniformly planned, simple and practical stone and wood structure houses have been built, some of which have even completed interior plastering and door and window installation and are ready for occupancy.
Most of these houses are single-story, with a few being two-story. They all have stone foundations and wooden walls, with thick thatched roofs that may be replaced with tiled roofs in the future.
Although the interior was simply furnished, it was sturdy, dry, and able to withstand the cold, making it a veritable paradise compared to the shacks in the refugee district.
Those who were first granted residency were naturally the long-time resident families who had followed Karl from the beginning and made significant contributions to the Carnford Defense Battle and its subsequent development.
Karl adopted an extremely favorable resettlement policy for them, charging only a symbolic rent of ten copper coins per month, and providing a formal "Rent-to-Own Document" from the Lord's Residence.
When the total rent paid by the resident reaches the construction cost of the house, the ownership of the house will be automatically and free of charge transferred to the resident, similar to a long-term, zero-interest "mortgage purchase". According to the current construction cost estimate, it will take about five to eight years.
For long-term residents whose monthly income is generally stable at over one Silver coin, this rent burden is almost negligible, and the prospect of owning full property rights in the future is extremely attractive.
As a result, there was a great deal of interest in applying for accommodation, and screening was even required based on factors such as merit and family size.
This is not just a welfare measure, but a shrewd strategy that firmly binds the interests of the core residents to the land of Carnford.
In Morr's blueprint, the northwest corner of Tunbao was reserved as a future handicraft and work area, planned to accommodate various government-run workshops led by the soon-to-be-established Department of Public Welfare, such as carpentry workshops, blacksmith Blacksmith Shop, leather workshops, and tailor shops, to achieve partial self-sufficiency in materials and employment within the fort.
However, this part of the construction requires more skilled craftsmen and equipment, and will take some time.
As for the outermost walls and moats, which are also the core of the Tunbao's defense, since the Sauron have recently suffered heavy losses, the overall situation in the Northern Territory is temporarily stable, and the main fortress of Carnford is well-defended, after consulting with Karl, Morr decided to postpone the construction of the tall stone walls and wide moats.
Concentrating resources on completing internal construction first, and quickly establishing production and living capacity, is a wiser choice.
As a temporary alternative defense measure, Morr built two simple wooden watchtowers, each three zhang high, on a slightly elevated hill next to the Tunbao and on the flat ground with the widest view to the north of the Tunbao.
The watchtower was simple yet sturdy, with a roof to shelter it from the wind and rain. A small number of trained sentries were stationed there, equipped with gongs and horns, and they took turns on guard day and night.
These two watchtowers were sufficient to monitor the situation within several miles of the Tunbao, respond to attacks from small groups of Bandits, wild animals, or scattered Sauron cavalry, and provide the residents of the fortress with enough time for safety warnings.
The real city walls can be built at a leisurely pace when the territory is more prosperous and the manpower is more abundant.
Standing on the walls of Carnford Castle, gazing southeast at the gradually taking shape "Stockaded Village Number One," and watching the rising smoke and the figures of people working there, Karl felt a rare sense of peace.
From recruiting refugees, judging powerful figures, establishing an administrative framework, opening official shops to building Tunbao, he is gradually transforming the blueprint in his mind into a solid and visible foundation on this land beneath his feet.
Every step was accompanied by difficult choices, potential risks, and countless trivial troubles, but seeing order established amidst chaos and hope sprouting from despair, he felt that everything he had done had meaning.
Spring may come late to the Northern Territory, but it is on its way.