Chapter 714 Kaiyuan County's Advantages
The huge difference in military strength between 20,000 and 60,000 made the leaders present depressed. Nomadic peoples are naturally superior in military strength. Even if the total population of both sides is similar, because they are originally a system where everyone is a soldier, their military strength is naturally several times that of agricultural peoples. This is something that agricultural peoples cannot compare to anyway.
However, Ying Rui, who had been personally instructed by Luo Chong, was not too worried because he knew the power of artillery.
"Don't be too pessimistic, everyone. In fact, we have a greater chance of winning this battle."
"Oh? What do you mean by that, Ying County Magistrate?" Chai Duoduo asked in confusion.
"First of all, we have the advantage of geographical location, so we can wait for the enemy to tire themselves out. We have sufficient weapons, food, fodder and ammunition, and our logistics are greatly guaranteed.
On the other hand, the enemy has traveled thousands of miles to attack us, and their men and horses are exhausted. Spring is also the season for livestock to breed
, and the spring grass is not lush. No matter which aspect, they are at a disadvantage. We can also fight with our backs against the city walls. If we are really defeated, we can just give up and defend the city. With the support of the dock and the rear, we have sufficient food, fodder and men, and the enemy can't do anything to us. After a long time, the enemy will naturally retreat without a fight. Of course, this is the worst outcome."
Everyone nodded in agreement when they heard this, and Ying Rui paused and continued.
"In terms of equipment, the enemy is all equipped with bamboo arrows and bows, bamboo armor and leather armor, and maybe some bronze spears, but compared with our all-steel equipment, it is still a big disadvantage. Moreover, we in Kaiyuan County are well-equipped. We have replenished feather arrows four or five times. We can still get a million arrows."
Everyone nodded again. Hearing that there were a million arrows in reserve, they were even more confident.
"But the most important point, of course, is the dozens of artillery pieces approved by the leader. With these artillery pieces, we can resist hundreds of thousands of troops. The enemy army of 60,000 this time will probably be scared to death under the attack of artillery." Ying Rui once again advocated the new weapon.
Everyone looked strange. Is this artillery really that powerful? Dozens of artillery pieces can resist hundreds of thousands of troops. Are you kidding ?
"Eagle County Governor, since we have already arrived at the military camp and there are no outsiders around, you can tell us the truth. Is this thing called artillery really that powerful?" Xue Tu was still unsure, so he asked again.
Ying Rui smiled and asked, "Do you remember the chief's method of splitting mountains and rocks to obtain salt, and the technique of splitting the earth and digging canals?"
"Of course I remember. At that time, I had already joined the Han tribe. I heard about the mountain splitting, but I didn't see it with my own eyes. But later, I personally participated in the use of explosives to split the earth and dig canals." Xue Tu recalled immediately, and then his eyes widened as soon as he finished speaking.
"Ying County Magistrate, you mean that this new weapon uses the same method?!"
"Almost. Since we are already in the military camp, why not demonstrate it to everyone directly, so that you can rest assured." Ying Rui nodded in affirmation.
Then he gave a few instructions to the clerks around him, asking them to notify the herdsmen not to bring their livestock to graze here. There will be a thunderstorm in the military camp soon, so don't scare the livestock.
After arranging these peripheral trivial matters, Ying Rui also asked the artillery instructors who came with him to assemble the field artillery carriage. The long fine steel barrel was fixed on the two-wheeled artillery carriage, and the fixed gunpowder box next to it had been opened. The shells were piled up into a small hill on the side. The instructors also installed all kinds of aiming and ignition accessories on the gun body, aiming at the straw man target group that the cavalry usually used for training.
In order to better demonstrate the killing method and power of artillery, the target distance set this time was not far, only two hundred meters, which is also the range of ordinary bows and arrows.
"Everyone, let me show you the killing effect of artillery first. In fact, this weapon invented by the leader, if only the longest range is considered, can hit a ten-pound iron ball six miles away, but if it is too far, we can't see the killing effect. This time I'll hit a close one for you to see." Ying Rui introduced to everyone.
"What the hell? Can this iron ball be hit six miles away? Are you still asleep?" Xue Tu almost dropped his jaw when he heard his words, and questioned in disbelief.
"Don't worry, everyone. You will know after you take a look." Ying Rui did not refute. He waved his hand and ordered the instructors to start loading the ammunition.
It was the first time for the bigwigs in Kaiyuan County to see how this weapon was used. However, the first feeling was that it was troublesome. It was too slow to load and fire once. However, considering that this was a heavy weapon with great lethality, this cumbersome operation process and firing frequency were not unacceptable. Wasn't it also very slow to fire once? As long as the power was worth the time consumed, it was nothing.
Adjust the left and right firing ranges to zero, aim at the ballistic baseline, load the elevation angle meter into the muzzle, set the elevation angle to five degrees, put the hoe, and start cleaning the barrel.
All kinds of dry and wet tools, with brushes and felt cloth, were all used in the barrel. Finally, the fixed paper-wrapped gunpowder with a weight of one times the bullet was stuffed into the barrel, tamped with a wooden mallet, and then loaded with a round bullet.
The main gunner poured bulk gunpowder into the powder pool at the gun tail fire gate, reset the flintlock, and hung the rope, and the preparations were completed.
"Ready now?" Chai Duoduo asked puzzled.
"That's right. Please step back a few steps and observe carefully. But it's best to cover your ears first. There will be a loud noise soon. Don't be afraid or worried." Ying Rui kindly reminded.
Tsk, what a joke .
Xue Tu was just about to brag that he would not be scared, but when he thought of the rumors about the leader opening the mountain, he chose not to say it. He silently covered his ears, but his eyes were fixed on the artillery that was about to be fired.
"Okay, fire." Seeing that everyone was ready, Ying Rui immediately ordered.
"Yes, fire."
Boom——
Ten kilograms of gunpowder exploded in front of everyone, and a burst of hot white smoke and flames suddenly spurted out of the muzzle. A black shell also suddenly jumped out of the flames and headed straight for the straw man target group in the distance.
The artillery was affected by the recoil and retreated several meters. Even though the big guys had been prepared, they were still stunned by the terrifying momentum.
Regardless of the power, the noise was too loud. Even if the iron ball could not cause any casualties to the enemy, just pulling it in front of the battle line and letting the enemy hear the noise would probably scare them into prostrating themselves and calling for the gods to descend.
At this time, the straw man targets in the distance, located directly in front of the muzzle, had all been pierced by the iron ball, and even the shadow of the iron ball could not be found. After checking around ,
they finally found the cannonball that had hit the grass and left a big hole on the ground at a distance of 1,800 meters.
"This, this is really amazing. It can really hit so far. How did the leader come up with this idea?"
... And (End of this chapter)
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