Chapter 304 - 134: Fortifications
The material used for the perimeter wall of the platform outside the Shelter consists of large rocks. Chen Zhou plans to build it up to 1.8m in height, with a width of about 1m.
Inside the semicircular wall, he plans to build four wooden watchtowers, each 3m high, to observe the situation outside the wall. If necessary, a few lamps can be hung at the top of the watchtower to provide lighting.
The foundation of the stone wall needs to be deep enough to support this heavy structure.
In the past, the side of the platform easily collapsed during the rainy season, eroding the soil. Therefore, it also needs to be covered with a layer of rock, and when laying the rock on the slope, it should be built steep enough to make it difficult to climb.
On the east side of the cave near the storage room, Chen Zhou left an opening in the stone wall to install a gate, with a stone staircase leading outside from the entrance.
He actually wrestled with the decision of whether to leave an entrance in the wall for some time.
For the indigenous people of this era, the stone wall is undoubtedly an impregnable defense line. Without enough numbers, it would be difficult for them to climb up to the platform through the storm of bullets and arrows, and then onto the wall to attack the cave.
But the gate is undoubtedly the weak point of this "iron wall."
Robinson, to avoid attacks, didn’t even leave a door for the Shelter, opting to use a ladder for entry and exit.
While this approach is very secure, it does cause a lot of trouble, such as the urgency to go home or the inconvenience of transporting supplies.
Unlike Robinson, Chen Zhou’s supplies didn’t arrive as a one-time deal but were delivered continuously.
Considering the mysterious rewards every 15 days, if a container-sized shipment were delivered, how could it be brought into the cave without a gate?
Whether it’s hoisting things over the wall to the other side, raising the land outside to create a slope, or dismantling a section of the wall, all these options are too troublesome.
Aside from the convenience issue, Chen Zhou also considered that the likelihood of the cave being attacked is quite low.
Focusing all his energy on building the wall, even if it’s built to be as solid as an iron fortress, seems like worrying unnecessarily.
Thinking from a different perspective, assuming he was an indigenous person who was lucky enough to escape the first wave of attacks at a cannibal ceremony, and then mustered the courage to pursue the fearsome enemy, he’d likely flee at the sight of his comrades falling dead one by one, with heavy casualties, filled with fear.
Even if the indigenous people landing on the island were outstanding warriors and most of the improved flintlock guns failed that day, which didn’t inflict the expected damage and allowed them to gain a numerical advantage and pursue him,
As per Chen Zhou’s guess, at most, the indigenous people would pursue up to the mountaintop.
As for venturing into an unfamiliar territory and attacking a robust structure, even beasts wouldn’t make such a choice.
Even if he accidentally slaughtered the tribe leader’s favorite young son, such an incident wouldn’t happen.
Moreover, the cave is situated deep inside the island. When initially selecting the location, it was on a shady area, not on an open ground visible at a glance.
The road up the mountain is particularly rugged, whether starting from the Rock Beach or the northeast beach, consuming a lot of physical strength on the journey. The indigenous people have no reason to fight to the end with him.
In his view, instead of worrying about a gate that may or may not be attacked, it would be better to practice marksmanship to avoid missing targets in a tense situation.
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Of course, although the chance of indigenous people pursuing all the way to the cave is extremely low, out of concern for his life, Chen Zhou did take some remedial measures.
For instance, he used a thick wooden door with iron plating for the gate material.
It was the largest and sturdiest door on the entire sailing ship, requiring considerable effort during transportation. After refurbishment, painting, and iron plating, it was reinstated into service.
He also set up a crisscross palisade around the outer side of the platform.
These palisades were all made using very thick wood, with sharpened tips pointing outwards, resembling a defensive porcupine, standing united against outsiders, adding considerable trouble for any enemy attack.
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The construction of the wall and the paving of the stone slabs was a large-scale project. Starting in June, Chen Zhou spent every day carrying stones and white clay.
The dry heat of the dry season provided some help for the construction—the white clay dried quickly, and the progress of the project accelerated accordingly.
During construction, he also tried some interesting experiments.
For instance, digging a well in hopes of achieving self-sufficiency and long-term defense of the cave, enabling endurance battles as long as food remains ample.
Unfortunately, due to the high altitude and many rock layers in the mountain, and lacking tools to chisel hard rock, the well had to be abandoned at a depth of two meters—there were large rocks below, impossible to dig through.
Another idea was building an escape tunnel to sneak away through it if the defenses failed.
This idea was feasible, but the workload was immense.
The surroundings of the platform were covered by fairly gentle hillsides. To reach a place far and safe enough, he would need to dig a tunnel 500m~800m long at least.
Optimistically estimating, it would take at least two to three years to complete digging.
With that amount of time, he might as well build several Bed Crossbows to increase the lethality of the defensive facilities.
The Heavy Crossbows mounted at high altitudes, not just for dealing with barely dressed primitive indigenous people, but also against fully plated ironclad warriors, have considerable deterrence—
The giant crossbow arrowheads made of Damascus Steel can completely penetrate Knight Plate Armor. Besides having a significantly shorter range than a Cannon and a slower rate of fire than firearms, they were far from outdated.
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Of course, failures come with successes.
Chen Zhou’s most proud design was a great success—
He constructed the new restroom at the edge of the platform, right next to the wall. The bottom of the restroom was built with a slope directing waste straight to the end of the field.