Liu Xiang hoped that Zhuojun troops would march north because he was afraid that Cheng Zhiyuan would be defeated too quickly. The longer the two sides struggled, the more beneficial it would be to Liu Xiang.
It is nearly 600 miles from Yuyang to Linyu. If Liu Xiang wants to capture Linyu, he must capture the four cities of Wuzhu, Tuyin, Lingzhi, and Fatty in the middle.
This cannot be completed in a few days. A round trip march will take nearly a month.
Liu Xiang had to face 2,000 troops from Lu County, 3,000 troops from Beiping on the right, 2,000 troops from Liaoxi County stationed at Lingzhi, and 1,000 troops from Linyu.
Eight thousand veterans are not soft persimmons. This does not include the powerful private soldiers in various places, and it is not a small number.
This time is Liu Xiang's biggest challenge since he started his army. He is preparing to mobilize all regular soldiers and recruit 30,000 militiamen.
If this battle is successful, even if the east and north defense lines envisioned by Liu Xiang are established, he will be able to mobilize his army to fully deal with the threat of the Han army in the south, and he will truly be regarded as a prince.
Now, he had to wait for the opportunity. He rubbed his temples and reminded himself to stay calm and not to be impatient.
Before that, new soldiers must be trained and ordnance must be forged.
In two days, the 800 veterans isolated in Yuyang Camp will be able to leave the camp. Together with the 2,000 recruits recruited in recent days, Liu Xiang plans to build up the framework between the front army and the rear army first, and then
It was slowly replenished to 3,000 men per battalion.
Today, the Hu Qi battalion withdrew from the Chinese army. Liu Xiang was planning to establish a Yue Qi battalion focusing on cavalry and archery. The number of troops was initially set at 500. He planned to deploy 100 people from his own guard and Ti cavalry, and the Hu Qi battalion was
Two hundred people were transferred and two hundred people were selected from among the new recruits.
The construction of light trebuchets and vehicle-mounted crossbows will begin in the next few days. He will build a light vehicle camp based on these equipment, and the scale will depend on the amount of equipment.
The trebuchet is to be built as a traction lever trebuchet. This trebuchet adopts the principle of laborious lever. A rotatable shaft is placed horizontally above the gun mount, and the long rod fixed on the shaft is called a "tip", which acts as a lever.
Those with only one wooden pole are called "single tips", and those with multiple wooden poles are called "multi-tips". The more tips there are, the heavier and farther the stone projectiles can be thrown. In ancient times, the number of cannon tips could reach up to 13 tips.
Liu Xiang planned to build only a single-tap trebuchet, named it a single-tap cannon, install it on a Wugang vehicle, follow the infantry in the field, and be responsible for long-range strikes.
The gun tip is about 2.5 to 2.8 feet long. One end of the tip is tied with a "skin nest", which is filled with stone bullets. The other end is tied with a gun rope, which is about several feet long. The small gun ropes range from 1 to 10.
Each rod is pulled by 1 to 2 people.
Each light vehicle camp is equipped with an artillery vehicle and a baggage vehicle, which are loaded with fired stone bullets.
Small stone bullets of one kilogram, three kilograms, and five kilograms, which are fired like bricks, are mainly used to kill soldiers or break open enemy shield formations. They have uniform specifications and weights, making it easier to form cluster strikes.
The vehicle-mounted bed crossbow is just to mount the bed crossbow on the vehicle. It is basically not difficult. It was played like this during the Warring States Period.
The trebuchet and bed crossbow had already been invented in the Spring and Autumn Period. There was no problem that they could not be invented in the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiang just changed his thinking and came up with innovations in usage.
He drew some simple drawings of trebuchets and three-bow crossbows, because the crossbow workshop is currently working hard to produce individual crossbows, and he plans to find someone to test his ideas after some time.
As for the issue of chariots being eliminated, it is actually a misunderstanding. Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, chariot soldiers were active on the battlefield, but they changed from the main combat arms to the auxiliary ones.
Liu Xiang sighed and stood up. There was a shortage of crossbows. He really didn't want to disturb the craftsmen in the crossbow workshop, but the best carpenters had been transferred there and there were no good craftsmen.
The infantry regiment he conceived was mainly for long-range strikes, which required a large number of longbows with more than one stone and powerful crossbows with more than two stones.
Therefore, the crossbow workshop has been adding craftsmen, but the production speed is still not satisfactory to Liu Xiang. He knows that he is too hasty, but the actual situation is there, how can he not be in a hurry?
He rubbed his face so that no one could see his anxious and worried face. Even if he was pretending, he had to pretend to be calm and calm.
If this goes on, his face will definitely become thicker. I hope he can really take it easy in the future, otherwise, he will just develop his face.
Time passed by in Liu Xiang's anxiety. The two armies were established, cement was successfully produced, and steel production increased. A piece of good news came, which alleviated Liu Xiang's melancholy.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days later, it was May in Yuyang, and the weather was already very hot. Liu Xiang changed into a robe of fine Gebu. The breeze blew, and the clothes and belt were swaying, which made him feel like he was following his master.
Liu Xiang particularly likes this robe. The fabric is made of fine Ge cloth produced in Leizhou. It is bright white in color, light and breathable, smooth and strong, better than silk and satin. The robe is embroidered with golden silk Chengyun embroidery embroidered by skillful weavers.
.
It's very comfortable to wear when the weather is hot.
It's just a bit expensive. In Youzhou in the north, fine grass cloth of this quality costs 500 yuan per foot.
Fortunately, he didn't have to spend any money and the fabric was copied from the home of Jun Cheng Qizhou. Otherwise, Liu Xiang would really be reluctant to part with it.
The fabric and the craftsmanship of Zhi Niang cost more than 100,000 yuan for a set of robes, which can be equipped with armor and riding equipment.
"Oh, what a luxury. I have been seriously corrupted!" Liu Xiang shook his head, looked at himself in the bronze mirror, and murmured in a low voice.
Forget it, who makes him feel good now? He measured his height just now and found that he has grown an inch. Now, he is already seven feet one inch!
Completely surpassed Boss Cao.
He looked at the bronze mirror again.
"Oh my, what a beautiful young man with a beautiful tree in the wind."
Pointing at the person in the bronze mirror, he said, "If you dare to look crooked, I'll beat you up."
Feeling better.
Just when Liu Xiang was showing off his beauty... no, admiring himself, the servant came to report: "General, Yan Sima is asking for an audience."
How did Yan Rou come? Liu Xiang muttered in his heart.
"Please ask him to meet you at the back office."
"only."
Not long after, the attendant led Yan Rou to the back office.
Yan Rou clasped her hands and saluted: "Greetings to my lord, your lord looks so good today."
Liu Xiang smiled sheepishly.
"That's ridiculous, that's ridiculous. Does Ziming have something to do here? Are the two counties in the north settled properly?"
"Everything is going well in the two counties. I'm here today to offer my treasure!"
"Ziming took the trouble to travel hundreds of miles. It must be a valuable treasure. Bring it to me quickly."
Yan Rou stretched out her hand and said, "Master, come with me. The treasure has been brought into the house."
"What was brought in? Is it a living creature?"
"My lord, you will know it at a glance."
"Then go and have a look."
Liu Xiang walked to the front office and saw a white horse tied under the shade of a tree. The horse was white all over, smooth and smooth without a trace of color. It was over ten feet long, with a shoulder height of more than six feet. Its limbs were slender and strong, and its ears were erect.
It looks like he is peeling bamboo, his eyes are like hanging bells, his eyes are bright and alert, and he is looking around curiously.
Liu Xiang doesn't know how to read horses, so he doesn't know if this horse is a good one, but it is really beautiful and looks great.
He walked over cautiously, and as he got closer, the horse's eyes were clear, neither fearful nor irritable, but seemed very calm.
He stretched out his hand and gently touched the horse's cheek. The horse snorted as if to say hello. Liu Xiang scratched the white horse's chin again and said to it: "Hello, beautiful little guy."
Yan Rou also came over and patted the white horse's neck, and said to Liu Xiang: "My lord, this horse is three years old. It is a little mare. It is all white without a single hair. It is six feet five inches tall. It has a stable character and is easy to use.
Ride.”
"Does this horse have a name?"
"My lord, just give it a name if you like it."
Liu Xiang stroked the little white horse's ears and said: "In ancient times, among the eight horses of King Mu, there was also a white horse called Bai Yi, also known as Bai Xi. You, the little guy, should also be called Bai Xi."