Da Wei Chun

Chapter 505
As soon as the gong sounded on the city, the soldiers in the first few rows squatted down and raised their wooden shields.

There was only a sharp sound of "Dangdang tied", and the flat wooden shield was shot like a large hedgehog in an instant.

But the pawns under the city still didn't stop, and they moved forward nearly ten steps despite the rain of arrows.Lieutenant General Yuan Zhaocai ordered the infantry to stop, and then the soldiers held shields and tried bows.

The infantry commander Yuan You stood on the ladder in the bow formation, looking carefully at the city through the gaps in the shields protected by his personal guards.

The ladder has four floors and is three feet high, which is higher than the city wall of Liyuan County.In addition, the distance is only forty steps, Yuanyou has good eyesight, so he looked at them very clearly.

I saw a lot of soldiers and armor on the city, and arrows rained like locusts.Behind the shield soldiers and archers, you can also see the pots and stoves erected, the golden juice with billowing hot smoke, the drums, rolling stones, etc.It seems that Yuan Li's preparations are extremely sufficient. If the party already wants to attack by force, the loss will inevitably be huge.

Yuan You looked at it very carefully, and at the same time explained all kinds of things in the city to the soldiers, and asked them to record them in the book.At the end, he made another emphatic confession: "Report to Commander-in-Chief: There are no chariot crossbows, bed crossbows, etc. I think there is no such thing in Qianyin..."

This is what Li Chengzhi emphatically explained, saying that he must wait and see carefully to see if the rebels have prepared long-range weapons such as stone cannons and crossbows.

As for the reason, he didn't explain it, and Yuan You didn't know.

Yuan Zhao was shooting, Yuan You was waiting and watching, and behind the Yu step formation, Li Song and Li Zhang led hundreds of artillerymen to test the catapults.

Because they came in a hurry, and most of the way was a quick march, so when Li Song followed Li Chengzhi to the south, he brought all small artillery vehicles.Not only is it light, but it can be assembled or disassembled at any time.

But the disadvantage is that it can't throw heavy objects, and it can't throw very far.So the biggest effect is to throw explosives and the like.

And even for explosives and grenades, once they exceed [-] catties, the delivery distance will be less than [-] steps.

At such a short distance, there is no need for heavy weapons for long-range attacks in the city. Just let the archers shoot arrows to threaten the artillery.

If Yuan Li suddenly got the hang of it and asked the archers to fire rockets instead, it would be a lot of fun.

Therefore, Li Chengzhi strictly ordered Li Song that the trebuchet should not be less than seventy steps away from the city.As for the weight of explosives that can be dropped, it depends on the effect of the test shooting: if twenty catties is not enough, then ten catties, if ten catties is not enough, then five catties, anyway, at least you have to throw it over the city wall...

After the gun mounts were installed, and the tin cans and sandbags for the test shooting were ready, Li Song sent a message to Li Cong to step aside.

Yuan Zhao was full of doubts: Li Chengzhi's personal soldiers did not do their business, why did they come to test the cannon after running?

He is over forty years old, and he can be regarded as experienced in many battles.Cousin Yuan Hui served twice as governor of Yizhou, both of whom were Fujun (leading generals), and the number of rebellions he had quelled was beyond count.

But I have never seen a stone cannon with such a weird structure, which does not need to be pulled by a horse, but is activated by a stone pendant (counterweight), and can be operated by only five or six people?
But it's too small, the biggest one is less than the height of two people, and the gun mount is still so thin, like a child's arm, how many stone bullets can it throw, and how far can it throw?

When Li Song ordered all the servants to bring the sand cans and sandbags for trial throwing, and asked all the pawns in front of the artillery cart to retreat to the sides so that the artillery cart could be fired, Yuan Zhao was even more puzzled.

The stone bullet is so small, and it is sixty or seventy steps away from the city, how much strength is left when it hits the city wall?

Furthermore, what is the point of allowing the pawns to let the artillery carts open? Is it possible that they are afraid that if the stone bullets are not thrown, they will hit their own people?

It's just a joke, when the wooden shields in the hands of pawns and the armor on their bodies are made of paper?

How many catties does your stone bomb weigh?

Yuan Zhao was suspicious and sneered secretly.The soldiers below were even more curious.

They are all elite soldiers of the Weifu, and they have fought many battles, but this is the first time they have seen such a small cannon carriage.

A brigade commander at the back came up curiously: "What's your surname, General?"

"Miangui's surname is Li, and he is not a general, but just a retainer in the Marshal's residence!"

"That's Li Joining the Army!"

The brigade commander stared at the stone cannon, then at Li Zhang and Li Cong standing in front of the cannon carriage, and couldn't help but be amused.

No wonder he finds it ridiculous, it's just that these two people are too conspicuous: one is as tall and strong as a mountain, and the other is as thin as a monkey.

The commander of the brigade suppressed a smile, and said cheerfully: "Li Canjun, this stone bullet looks so small, I'm afraid it only weighs five or six catties, how powerful can it be? And the boys are all wearing full armor, even if the artillerymen miss it." , it must not be able to hurt us, so someone took the liberty to come here because he wanted to inform Li Canjun: Just let go and do whatever..."

It sounds like good intentions, but the smile on Lu Shuai's face and the curiosity in his eyes all reveal the meaning of "making a fuss", "making a fuss", and "you are so troublesome".

It was really troublesome and dangerous: after all, Li Song didn't make it clear in advance, and suddenly let the infantry make way for the artillery, which was equivalent to a temporary change of formation.

If the Weifu soldiers were not well-trained, but were replaced by county soldiers or state soldiers, this change of formation would be a mess in no time.

Fortunately, it is a siege, and the enemy will not be able to get down for a while.If it is a field battle, if it is not good, the enemy will seize the opportunity to rush over, and it is not impossible to be defeated in one fell swoop.

As soon as he heard this sentence, Li Song understood that the commander of the brigade was supposed to come here under the orders of the Shangguan, in the name of good intentions, but in fact he was complaining.

Forget it, let me remind you first, let you know why you have to change, and what will happen if this thing really falls on you.

With a smile on his face, Li Song responded politely.Then he gave Li Zhang an order: "Replace live ammunition, and the range will be halved!"

Li Zhang reacted a little slower, thinking that Mr. Lang was just letting the cannons be tested, sand cans and sandbags were enough, why waste live ammunition.

Li Cong was not so clever, he responded repeatedly, first moved the leather pocket at the top of the lever down a few sections quickly, and then put a dynamite bag weighing about five or six catties into the leather pocket.

Seeing him light the torch again, several servants of the Li family around the cannon mount immediately dispersed.

Lu Shuai was dragged back five or six steps by Li Song, and asked puzzledly, "Why do you have to retreat, and why do you want to light a fire... Well, why is this stone bomb dragging such a long rope?"

While chattering, the brigade commander saw the thin monkey-like soldier bringing the torch close to the end of the rope.With the sound of "嗤", a spark burst out, and the end of the rope ignited.

Then I saw that young man as strong as a mountain holding up a big axe, and chopped heavily on the hemp rope connected to the lever.

With a sound of "dong", the hemp rope as thick as a child's arm broke, and the counterweight stone weighing two hundred catties crashed down and landed heavily on the cushion layer.Another whoosh sound was heard, and the explosive package, about the size of a human head, flew out like a meteor.

The cannon carts were all used in Woye, and as the leader of the artillery battalion, Li Zhang was very familiar with his skills, so the cannons were extremely accurate.

The original debugging range was sixty feet, and it was planned to try to throw it over the city wall.Now it was halved by Li Cong, and the explosive package flew to about thirty feet before landing on the ground, and rolled forward seven or eight steps "bonely", before stopping when it hit the base of the city wall.

The rebels on the top of the city were shooting arrows, and most of them didn't pay attention to the explosives thrown down the city.Even if someone saw it, they didn't pay much attention to it, they were just curious about how this thing sparked and smoked.

After a pause of about ten breaths, there was a sudden explosion.

Just like lightning in a thunderstorm, a spark flashed out of nowhere, and then disappeared in a flash.Then, like a goddess scattering flowers, steel balls and iron nails shot out all over the sky, hitting the city wall with a crisp sound of gold and iron intersecting.

The guards on the nearby city wall seemed to have seen a ghost, and they couldn't even shoot arrows.

On such a sunny day, why did thunder suddenly explode, and it was so close to me?
Ever since the infantry formation of the officers and soldiers took the siege posture, Yuan Li's eyes never left the dozen or so catapults that landed at the end.

Yuan Li's eyes popped out when she saw a sparkling thing with a tail being thrown out and flying towards the top of the city.

Lu Yan's letter has repeatedly mentioned this object: it may be the size of a child's head, or it may be the size of a fist... or it may be wrapped in silk cloth, or wrapped in pig iron, with iron beads and nails inside, and it will explode like ten thousand. A volley of arrows shot, within a few feet, it was like a strong wind sweeping away, not leaving a blade of grass...

When it exploded, the smoke and dust cleared away, Yuan Li's scalp was numb when she saw the densely packed iron nails embedded in the city wall emitting a cold light.

Really Ray?

"Hurry up... call the archer (sharp archer) and let me shoot that cannon..."

The ignorant are fearless.

It's too far away, it's not very real, and the brigade commander doesn't feel deeply.It's just strange that this thing was smashed against the wall, why did it suddenly catch fire and disappear in a flash?

But the movement is quite loud...

"This is not a stone bomb, what is it that can catch fire?"

The brigade marshal asked, pointing to the ammunition box, which was more than ten steps away from the gun mount, and was tightly guarded by several Li's retainers holding shields.

Li Song said with a smile: "Lei..."

Li Song didn't even utter the word Lei, but Li Song's pupils shrank suddenly: "Be careful..."

But how can it be too late?

With a sound of "tied", an armor-piercing arrow hit the brigade commander's iron helmet, and was bounced to the ground again.

Even so, Li Song was still frightened into a cold sweat: How could the rebels' arrows shoot so far?

If it was replaced by rockets, and the shots were denser, it might be able to detonate the ammunition box.

He hurriedly ordered: "Back... back quickly, move the ammunition box back another ten steps... the auxiliary soldiers prepare water bags and wet clothes, and put out the fire at any time..."

A group of artillerymen flew back to carry the ammunition box. It wasn't until this moment that the brigade commander realized, screamed "Wow", and covered his head again: "It's the shooter, it must be the shooter..."

Just as they were shouting, the front line suddenly moved again.Originally, there was only an empty space of three to five feet, but under the orders of the commanders of each team, they squeezed hard to both sides, leaving a passage nearly ten feet wide without much effort.

Yuan You kept wiping off his cold sweat, scolding Yuan Zhao in his heart: I just forgot the saying in Beijing that "Li Chengzhi can attract thunder from the sky", so I should have read the imperial court's mansion newspaper a few days ago, right?
At this time, seeing Li's retainers playing with the cannon carriage behind the formation, no matter how stupid they were, they would have thought of it.

But this idiot Yuan Zhao still has the leisure to send his subordinates to go to the battle and complain, thinking that Li's retainers have messed up his position?

Do you know that if Li's servants miss a little bit, if one of those things falls into the formation, dozens of them will be killed or injured immediately.

This is only second, the most important thing is that no matter how strict the formation is, if you are surprised by this monster like punishment from heaven, the formation will definitely be chaotic.

Cursing in his heart, Yuan You directly sent his own soldiers to hand in Yuan Zhao's soldier talisman...

It was just a false alarm, Li Song regained his composure, and ordered Li Zhang and others to test the cannon.

There are only [-] of them, all of which are well-used and not newly made, so the trial is extremely fast.After tossing seven or eight rounds, Li Song ordered the whole team to retreat to the camp after the gunners memorized their positions.

Seeing that Li Song had finished testing the cannon, Li Chengzhi ordered the former army to withdraw.The two thousand pawns retreated back into the formation like the tide,

……

Staring at the pile of sandbags and iron cans under her feet, Yuan Li's face was as black as iron.

No matter how stupid he is, he still knows that what Li Chengzhi throws next time is definitely a real guy.

In this way, how can this battle be fought?
"Everyone has also seen... Seeing the power of this thing, according to your opinion, is there a way to guard against it?"

The generals haven't read Lu Yan's urgent report, and most of them were far away just now, and they haven't even realized what it is. What insights can they have?
A general held the top of the city, looked down at the grass that had been blasted by thunder, and was still emitting wisps of smoke: "I think this thing should be a firearm. Among the five elements, water can defeat fire, and it should be broken by water... "

water?
Yuan Li's eyes lit up, and she forcefully squeezed out a sliver of confidence: "The order goes on, but all the soldiers guarding the city should prepare water bags. If you encounter this thing, you can pour water on it. I will tell you to prepare more water jars in the city. French concoction..."

"promise!"

All the generals responded, retired one after another, and sent orders to the towers and the city.

Yuan Li looked south worriedly: "Yuan Huai, Yuan Huai, if you can't move to rescue the soldiers, grandpa will have to abandon the city and run away..."

……

That's why Li Chengzhi didn't know Yuan Li's idea of ​​"killing thunder with water", otherwise he would laugh.

That thing is waterproof...

The three of them were still on the ladder. Yang Jun pointed to the pawns who had returned to the formation, and suddenly realized: "I just thought it was a test formation, why did you only send out archers and shield pawns? Now that I think about it, it should be a test of the city. Are there sharp weapons such as heavy crossbows?"

"That's true. If the rebel army has crossbows or the like, the artillery battalion must be careful. In addition, it also means to let the archers and shield soldiers protect the artillerymen.

After the cannon carriages are tested and the artillery formations are lined up, there is no need to stand in front of the artillery formations like today, but to stand behind the artillery formations.If there is an enemy attacking, it is not too late to go out to meet the enemy...Of course, it does not have to be infantry. When you see the enemy's formation, you can adapt to the situation, and you can replace it with cavalry or chariot soldiers..."

It's really powerful, but it's a bit expensive, and it can't stand a little bit of beating...

Yang Jun was thoughtful, and asked again: "What is the flaming rope tied behind the tail? I didn't hear you talk about it yesterday..."

Li Chengzhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I have already said that I must have reservations, but you still have to get to the bottom of it? Forget it, it's okay to tell you: this is what grass velvet rolls over sulfur, and it can replace rockets..."

It is no secret that sulfur is good at starting fire, even the Hu people know it.So Yang Jun didn't need to see the real thing, he could guess it with a little brains.Li Chengzhi simply made a personal favor in advance.

so simple?
Yang Jun nodded, and asked again: "What about the artillery cart? It looks small, but it is extremely convenient, and even saves the power of animals. If it is bigger, it should be a stone bullet of forty or fifty catties. Can you send a hundred steps?"

Li Chengzhi secretly sighed: There is no one who is famous in history books.

"Forget it, I'll show you guys a little bit!"

Li Chengzhi turned around and went down the ladder, "If craftsmen join hands, it's okay to rush to make some for this battle..."

Hearing this sentence, Li Shao and Yang Jun's eyes lit up...

(End of this chapter)