Chapter 106 Everything is ready, only the trebuchet!
Qiao County.
When Zhao Yun arrived at Qiao County with two thousand cavalry and fifty repeating crossbows, it happened to be the third day after Huang Zhong's formation killed four generals.
Ever since Huang Zhong disguised himself as a pig and killed the four generals under Ji Ling's command, Ji Ling's army never left camp to fight again.
Originally, his mission was just to delay, because Yuan Shu sent out three more armies, aiming directly at Pengcheng and other places in Xuzhou.
As long as Yuan Shu captures Pengcheng guarded by Chen Deng, most of Xuzhou, except Xiapi and Guangling, will fall into Yuan Shu's hands.
When Yuan Shu's seven armies gather together, the difficulty for Cao Cao to capture Xuzhou will increase exponentially.
Now Cao Cao has been confronting Qiaorui in Xiapi City for almost half a month. The situation on the other side of Xuzhou has been revealed from time to time by Lu Yan's diary, so Cao Cao is still relatively stable for the time being.
He now hopes that Lu Yan can break through the situation as soon as possible. As long as he can break through Ji Ling's blockade, the entire situation will be revitalized in an instant.
...
Huang Zhong killed the four generals Ji Ling before his sword was unsheathed. His bravery was instantly revealed by Cao's army. The soldiers were also full of curiosity and various speculations about Huang Zhong's sword.
Zhao Yun's arrival brought a sense of freshness to many soldiers, so some people who were restless began to open the market secretly.
"I say, General Huang must be a master on the same level as General Zhao. I can't say that he can beat General Zhao with his sword out of its sheath! I will win against General Huang!"
"I'm betting that General Zhao will win!"
"I also bet on General Zhao to win! Five hundred coins!"
On his way to the Chinese army's tent, Lu Yan suddenly heard the sound of betting.
When he heard someone making a bet between Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong, Lu Yan walked outside the tent where the soldiers were hiding and said abruptly: "Do you know that gambling in the army is a serious crime?"
"Ah! It's Lu Qiaoqi's voice..."
"It's over..."
The soldiers in the tent filed out, prostrated themselves on the ground, and begged for mercy:
"Lu Qiaoqi forgives me!"
"We are aware of our guilt, please forgive me, General!"
"We don't dare to do it anymore. Please forgive me, General!"
Gambling in the army is a serious crime according to Cao Jun's military discipline.
But since it was their first offense, Lu Yan did not punish them too severely.
"The newly arrived cavalry are setting up camp. Come together and help them."
When they heard that they were just being punished to do work, several people felt as if they had received an amnesty and kept kowtowing to express their thanks.
"Yes! Thank you Lu Qiaoqi for showing mercy!"
"Let's go now and make sure everything is done before dark!"
...
Zhao Yun directed the soldiers to arrange the camp, and fifty repeating crossbows were placed in the core and most strictly guarded area.
After the arrangements were made, Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan came to Lu Yan's camp and told Lu Yan everything they had done in Yin, Henan, down to the smallest detail.
This lecture lasted two hours. By the time Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan felt their mouths were really dry, it was already dark.
Zhao Yun glanced at the darkening sky outside, and regretfully said to Lu Yan: "Oops, I talked too much without realizing it, and it's already dark... It seems that I can't show you the Liannu for you, sir, today."
It’s powerful.”
Lu Yan smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter, just go to Ji Ling Camp for a test launch tomorrow."
However, there are only fifty serial crossbows, which is still far behind Lu Yan's expectations.
You know, something like a crossbow must reach a certain amount in order to have a suppressive effect on the battlefield.
Seeing that Lu Yan seemed a little dissatisfied, Zhao Yun smiled bitterly and said: "Before coming, Lao Geng also explained to me why there are only so many repeating crossbows.
He said that the internal structure of this repeating crossbow is too delicate to be mass-produced. If you want to speed up the production, you will have to expand a group of manpower for specialized training..."
Lu Yan thought about it and thought: "That's right... In this era, there are no lathes, no assembly lines, and no precise measuring tools. To make a repeating crossbow, it all depends on the master's personal craftsmanship..."
Actually, after thinking about it, I said, "There is no way to reduce the time to build a repeating crossbow.
Except for some relatively exquisite structures, many parts are relatively simple and can be built in batches.
As long as the master craftsmen can produce those precise parts, and then recruit a group of people to assemble them, we can reach the level of mass production."
But in this way, the money that needs to be spent will be a lot of money. Thinking of this, Lu Yan has a headache. How can he ask Mao Jie and Yi Ji for money when he has a headache...
"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore, let's think of something else when we go back..." Lu Yan simply put these headaches behind him, and then asked curiously, "You said, you guys can rescue Cai Yan."
How's it going? Is it beautiful?"
Men are still curious about women after all.
Even if you can only watch but not eat, you are still trying to get gossip.
Zhao Yun shook his head and said: "I didn't pay attention..."
"..." Lu Yan was speechless and stopped continuing the topic.
After Zhao Yun finished telling what happened to his group, Lu Yan also briefly explained the situation here for them.
When they heard that Wei Yan asked for orders to cut off Ji Ling's food route alone, and that Huang Zhong killed four of Ji Ling's generals without even unsheathing his sword, Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan couldn't help but feel excited.
Firstly, the strength of their teammates aroused their desire to win, and secondly, the numerous opportunities for meritorious service in today's battlefield made them impatient.
After the conversation, everyone went back to camp to repair.
The next day,
In the Chinese army's tent, Lu Yan called Zhao Yun's name, and Xia Houlan said: "Zhao Yun, Xia Houlan!"
"The general is here!" Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan stood up together and responded loudly and apologized.
"I order you two to lead our cavalry to Xiaopei to intercept the scouts who are hunting the enemy!"
"Here!"
As soon as Xiahou Dun heard Lu Yan's arrangement, he immediately said anxiously: "Changsheng, the strategy of encircling the point and calling for reinforcements is no longer working! It was after I was discovered through this trick that I was defeated from both sides."
Lu Yan saw that Xiahou Dun was quite honest and dared to give advice, so he nodded: "I don't want to surround the area for reinforcements, I just want to cut off the connection between Ji Ling and the Xiaopei garrison."
Xiahou Dun was not stupid, and he understood Lu Yan's intention after a moment's thought, "You want to swallow Ji Ling??" Xiahou Dun said in surprise.
"Why not?" Lu Yan asked with a slightly raised corner of his mouth.
Xiahou Dun frowned and said: "Ji Ling still has about 15,000 people. With only 5,000 of us, I'm afraid it will be difficult..."
"There are also Zilong's two thousand cavalry, plus the current five thousand infantry, which is enough!" Lu Yan's confident look infected the generals in the tent and inadvertently boosted their self-confidence.
Xiahou Dun saw that Lu Yan seemed to have his own plan, so he said with confidence: "Okay, as long as we can defeat Ji Ling, no matter what you want to do, I, Xiahou Dun, will listen to your arrangements!"
Lu Yan was very satisfied with the energy of Xiahou Dun and the other generals, so he said: "Today we will build the equipment, and tomorrow we will go out to the camp to fight!"
"Here!" The generals clasped their fists in agreement.
Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan led two thousand cavalry in a circle from the north to between Ji Ling's camp and Xiaopei City. They intended to cut off Ji Ling's connection with the Xiaopei garrison, delaying or even preventing him from getting reinforcements from Xiaopei.
support.
Wei Yan's activities in the south will definitely affect Ji Ling's supply of food and grass, and morale will not be too high.
Everything is ready, but it’s time for the trebuchet to complete this ray of east wind!