Hou Qi's attitude was mostly to hide his embarrassment, because he didn't know why the Dongfan people would let the precious ingredients such as beef for the servants who built the city to eat. You should know that since ancient times, serving labor service has been the obligation of the people as well as paying grain. Major projects such as building cities and digging ditches are even more of the graves of the people. Many times, the servants who work are not full or warm in food, and often bring money and grain from their homes to supplement them, let alone eat big white steamed buns. Beef may not be able to eat Chinese New Year.

Ma Liu came over and said, "This beef was originally military ration, but now there are fresh ingredients in the camp, so I'll give it to you!"

Everyone was eating it in a sensation, and Ma Liu explained with a smile that it was all about relieving the boredom. It turned out that the beef in the Yafu bowl was cured meat prepared by the United States for the navy and army, and was generally mainly beef and pork. This type of cured meat originated from the food of sailors. The meat contains almost no moisture and a lot of salt, so it lasts for a long time. Among the British troops in later generations, corned beef can even be stored for decades or hundreds of years. For example, during World War I, the British army also ate beef from the Crimean War.

This type of cured meat is very hard and is called meat bricks by sailors. Many sailors will sell them with their carved buttons and other gadgets in their spare time. It is also very popular. However, this type of cured meat is extremely unhealthy, hard as rocks, and difficult to eat. The most important thing is that the cured meat contains a lot of nitrogen, which causes the taste to be extremely poor and seriously harms the soldiers' health. Therefore, the United States has been looking for a low-cost way to improve food, and ultimately chose the marinade method.

Marinating means cleaning large pieces of beef and pork and marinating them in concentrated salt water in wooden barrels. According to the task time, the salt water concentration is between 6% and 10%. The marinated pork is easier to stew and has a good quality. Therefore, it is not only used as military rations, but also as commodities. Every autumn and winter, a large number of pigs, cattle and sheep from Yongning are slaughtered. After being marinated, they are transported to Taiwan, Japan and other places for sale as commodities. Now it is the pillar industry of the Yongning Chief Executive District.

Of course, the marinated meat obtained from the soaking method can be used as military rations, but it is difficult to make war preparation rations. After all, the sealing requirements for wooden barrels are too high, and the combat preparation rations are still the old bacon. However, with the implementation of the soaking method, a large amount of combat preparation rations lost their value. After the army entered Shandong, it obtained a large amount of live livestock by large-scale house searches in the liberated areas. The army will naturally choose fresh meat to eat. Therefore, after a large amount of bacon arrived, it appeared on the ground in Shandong as construction materials.

After dinner, Ma Liu took everyone to work on the construction site. The radius of more than ten miles had become a large construction site. At least 50,000 people worked here, more than half of which were labor prisoners who had been classified into labor camps. After the army entered Shandong, it swept across the Denglai area. Nearby officials and gentry were confiscated from home and slaves and were continuously transported to Qingdao to build fortresses. Unlike Jiangnan, Shandong also has a group of special interest groups, namely the garrison.

The garrison and the royal family were the two major crux of the Ming court. After the Qing army entered the pass, most of the solution was to not support the garrison. The finances increased by more than 10 million yuan each year. The garrisons across the country were successively abolished, military households were converted into civilians, and the officials were transferred to officials. Only Shandong was different. In order to prevent the sea, Shandong left six garrisons, and most of these two garrisons were located in Jiaodong, which was also a strike by the United States.

The Shandong Military Control Commission and the Beiyang War Zone distinguished the military households of the garrison. The powerful and wealthy families with more than a hundred households were regarded as rebellion of the Qing Dynasty. The search for family members was no different from the gentry. Ordinary military households with less than a hundred households were regarded as refugees and did not invade. On the contrary, the Beiyang War Zone recruited a large number of soldiers in the Jiaodong garrisons to join the public security army. Although the garrisons in Shandong were corrupt, they were still better than farmers. At least the ability to hold spears and hold swords was passed down by ancestors.

After the officers and soldiers of the garrison were divided, a large number of hereditary officers were liquidated. Although there were only six garrisons, there were indeed many hereditary officers. The Chengshan Guards were captured in the command history of the twelve garrisons. Many hereditary officers were hereditary officers from the Ming Taizu and Chengzu period. In fact, except for the short period of just being established, the garrison system did not meet Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes in most of the time - to raise millions of soldiers without spending a grain of rice for the people. Because of hereditary, many tax revenues were intercepted every year to support these hereditary officers, and the hereditary officer class also had privileges in the imperial examination and tax payment. In fact, Shandong's garrisons were not abolished until the Yongzheng period.

Although the officials and soldiers were divided, the Military Control Commission did not abolish the privileges of the military office in paying food and tax payment, mainly because it was worried that this would force the military households of the military office to fight against each other with the hereditary nobles. In the case of liquidating hereditary officers and recruiting two-pronged approaches, ordinary military households not only protected their existing interests, but also exploited and persecuted the Shangguans who exploited them, but also obtained new means of making a living. Therefore, not only did not follow the officers to rebel, but also actively joined the security army and eliminated the fleeing hereditary officers. It was not until the soldiers who could fight and dared to fight in the military office were drawn to join the security army that the Military Control Commission abolished the privileges of the military households in paying taxes.

Ma Liu brought more than 300 craftsmen, including Hou Qi, to a flat land in southwest of Qingdao. It was piled up with bricks, stones, sand and other building materials from all over Shandong. On the flat ground, there were already thousands of people working. They used bricks and stones to build rows of two-story buildings, which was also the work of Ma Liu and others.

"Sixth brother, aren't we going to build a city? How can we build a house?" Hou Qi asked with some disappointment on his face. He had been dealing with building a house for most of his life. He wanted to participate in building a city and learn to learn craftsmanship, but he never thought he would be brought here directly.

Ma Liu said, "The fortress construction project has been contracted by the First Construction Company of the United States. The army and the commander department supervised. Do you know that the engineers, craftsmen and managers inside are all from the First Construction Company, and the workers are all labor reform prisoners. The fortress is a Western-style castle, and you will not fiddle with it. Moreover, the secret to building the castle is not revealed. We outsiders cannot get close to you easily!"

"Then what are we doing? What is that house for?" Hou Qi asked, pointing to the row of two-story buildings that had built most of the two-story buildings.

Ma Liudao "We are building dormitories for soldiers and workers, oh, that is, where soldiers and dock workers live."

As he said that, Ma Liu led his people into a small building. The main body of the building had been built with bricks. The workers were painting the inner and outer walls with white ash. The small building faced north and south, with two floors above and below. Each floor has ten independent small rooms. Each house is more than two meters long and about two meters wide. The earthen kang in the room has been laid. Hou Qi took a look and asked, "Brother Six, why is there no stove in this house?"

Ma Liudao "This is a dormitory, there is no need for that thing."

"Didn't you say that the dormitory is hosted by soldiers and workers? Why don't you need to live in someone else? Could it be that this room is used to store things, but why does it have a bed?" Hou Qi looked puzzled.

"This is indeed a resident, so the doors, windows and beds are all complete, but this is the dormitory for the port company. The four hundred acres nearby are all. I heard that 4,000 people will be living in. At that time, there will be three canteens in this dormitory area, and the meals are all in the canteen. Each floor has a bathroom, and there are public toilets downstairs. There are schools, grocery shops and other facilities in the dormitory area. The food and drink of dock workers is the responsibility of the port company. Of course, there is no need to install a stove in each room, but it may be true to install a stove for heating." Ma Liu explained as if he was showing off.

He was talking so hard that he found Hou Qi and others looking at him enviously. Hou Qi said, "Sixth Brother, you are kind-hearted and bring us into that port company. Then the master is really a charitable person. It's great to live in the house and eat for food."

Seeing that they were about to kneel down, Ma Liu hurriedly grabbed him and said, "Don't ask me, I'm not from the port company. I'm just a contractor. Let me tell you, when I came, I got all the money from my family and relatives, and collected more than 200 taels of money, and contracted the construction project of six buildings. The materials were provided by others. I just wanted to organize people to build the house they wanted. Brothers should help you, and complete the project as soon as possible. After the project is settled, I can also contract more projects."

"Then can I contract this project?" asked a clever question.

Ma Liu smiled and said, "Not now. You have to be a citizen of the United States first. You have to take out two thousand taels of silver to prove that you have the financial resources, otherwise it will not work."

Seeing that everyone was disappointed, he said, "Brothers, don't be discouraged. This project will not be completed for a while. Moreover, similar projects are available in all parts of the United States. You are willing to endure hardships, and it is okay to be early or late."

In Fushan Qianhu Suocheng, there is a huge map hanging in He Liangtao's office. This map was collected through the information collected by the Beiyang War Zone. He Liangtao and engineers from the United States First Construction Company. After landing in Jiaozhou and actual measurements, it was improved and rested. The map included most of Jiaozhou Bay, and the project's range was nearly a hundred miles.

The plan named Qingdao Fortress Construction Project is not just about building a defensive fortress in Jiaozhou Bay. This huge project plan also includes a port with an annual throughput of no less than 200,000 tons, a garrison of 5,000 troops, 125 artillery and 22 buildings, and two large military camps that can garrison 20,000 people, including not only barracks, but also shooting ranges.

In the entire design drawing, the giant fortress named the main fortress is located in the area of ​​Shimei'an. On the west side of the fortress is Jiaozhou Bay and on the east side is Laoshan. Most of the urban area of ​​Qingdao in later generations is hidden behind. At the commanding heights in front and behind the main fortress, various fortresses, watchtowers and garrison sites are scattered. These fortifications have won nearly 100 square kilometers of land for Qingdao. On this land, many areas such as military camps, ports, trading areas, labor camps, etc. are arranged. Of course, these are just regional plans on the mainland. Several islands in Jiaozhou Bay have also been used and added to the Qingdao regional system.

"Your Excellency, this place will be the garrison of Qingdao Military Control Commission and the Beiyang War Zone. The purpose is to build a city that can supply 20,000 troops, a squadron and 100,000 residents. The main construction project will take two years. Of course, this requires at least 100,000 labor investment and massive materials. This will become the permanent base of the United States in Shandong. According to your plan, the United States will completely gain a foothold in Shandong on the day of the construction of the Qingdao Fortress. When we come, we will not leave!" He Liangtao said respectfully.

Li Mingxun nodded slightly. He was very satisfied with the Qingdao Fortress Defense System. The entire system effectively utilized the geographical advantages of Jiaozhou Bay and Laoshan, and the location chosen was more sophisticated. He chose the east side of Jiaozhou Bay instead of the west side with more abundant population and materials.

If the Qing army wanted to siege Qingdao fortress, it would have to bypass Jiaozhou Bay to attack. Because of Jiaozhou Bay, the United States would have been able to send land battle camps to cut off the supply line of the Qing army, which forced the Qing army to invest more power. Therefore, Qingdao can only play a huge role as a fortress that attracts the Qing army to consume its power, not to mention that this will serve as a springboard for the United States to invade the inland of the Central Plains.

The establishment of Qingdao Fortress gave the United States a springboard to enter the mainland. Advance can sweep across Denglai, attack the hinterland of Shandong and even the Central Plains, and retreat can defend the fortress to continue to consume the Qing Dynasty's war resources. However, the premise is that the Beiyang War Zone must provide more manpower for Qingdao Fortress Area and also buy at least one year for it. In one year, Qingdao Fortress can withstand a siege of 100,000. If it has three years, with the fortifications of the fortifications and the military strength of the United States, even if the Qing army attacks the whole country, Qingdao Fortress can stand firm.

"Then it depends on the Beiyang War Zone." Li Mingxun said with a smile.

He Liangtao said, "Yes, everything depends on Chief Gao."

Such a huge project in Qingdao Fortress District will have a huge demand for manpower and resources, and the annual war funding of the commander is not enough, so he can only adopt the strategy of using war to support the war. The fundamental reason is to obtain money, grain and manpower from Shandong, especially before the main force of the Qing army arrives, we must do this step.

At the same time, Laizhou City.

The black soldiers stood all over the open space outside the south gate. The bleak cold wind swept through the grass leaves. The sparse Yulin could no longer block the gray sky. It was winter and the weather was cold and the ground was frozen, but the soldiers on the open space were enthusiastic. There were twenty battalions of army infantry, artillery, cavalry, and workers, as well as a security army of 8,000 people and a migrant worker support team of 15,000 people. In addition to the six thousand cavalry of the army and the horse-drawn army of artillery, thousands of vehicles and nearly five thousand cattle, horses and mules were recruited from the security army and the security army.

With the issuance of the order to depart, the soldiers lined up in columns began to advance and headed westward. With the military movement, the cavalry unit led by Zhao Junsu was the vanguard. Gao Feng personally led the central army to protect the artillery team and baggage in the middle. Forty thousand soldiers and civilians and tens of thousands of vehicles and horses and mules hurried for more than ten miles, flags covering the sky and the sun, and the magnificent military appearance was rare in the world!
Chapter completed!