Chapter 296 Siege-type ballista, mobile ballista! Can Yuan Shu withstand it?
"The last general, Gao Shun, has met General Cao."
"My Excellency Liu Ye, I have met General Cao."
Gao Shun and Liu Ye entered Cao's camp and both saluted.
"Get up quickly."
Cao Cao quickly waved his hand and said with a smile: "But His Majesty sent you to help Cao Cao?"
Liu Ye nodded affirmatively: "That's right! That's right. This is a personal letter written by His Majesty to the General. The General has read it."
Immediately.
Liu Ye took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao hurriedly took it with both hands: "This... is just a letter, but it's wrapped in paper? It's too extravagant."
Liu Yedan smiled: "General, don't worry, your Majesty has innovated the papermaking technology, and the cost has been reduced a lot. Now we use this kind of paper in Qiqiao Pavilion."
"Oh right."
Liu Ye suddenly remembered something and said softly: "Your Majesty knows that the general has outstanding literary talent, so he asked me to bring a package to the general. After they finish unloading the goods, they will send it to the general's camp."
Cao Cao's eyes suddenly lit up: "Really?"
"kindness."
Liu Ye nodded with absolute certainty: "I think it's enough for the general."
Cao Cao was overjoyed: "Your Majesty treats me, Cao Cao, so well!"
Say it.
He turned back to his superior, opened the envelope, and took out the letter. His eyes rolled up and down, and he immediately understood what His Majesty the Emperor meant and what Liu Ye and Gao Shun's purpose was.
Putting down the letter, Cao Cao raised his eyes and looked at Liu Ye and Gao Shun: "I wonder how you two entered Yingchuan?"
Liu Ye bowed his head and said: "General, don't worry, we are entering Yingchuan with the caravan, and the brothers in the trapped camp have been divided into four waves. We will enter Yingchuan in batches, and our whereabouts will never be exposed."
call-
Cao Cao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was completely relieved: "That's great. If Yuan Shu learns that there are imperial reinforcements in the direction of Nanyang, he will definitely modify his plan. I'm afraid our previous deployment will be affected."
"Your Majesty is still thoughtful."
On the sidelines, Cheng Li marveled at His Majesty the Emperor's caution.
Such a decision must be based on the actual situation in Yingchuan, otherwise it would never be possible to sneak in as a caravan. This is an extremely rare quality for those in high positions.
Cao Cao, Cheng Liwei felt extremely lucky to have such an emperor.
"General Cao!"
Gao Shun bowed and handed over his hand, and added: "The final generals will be the first batch to enter Yingchuan from the trapped camp. The rest of the soldiers will arrive in batches in the next few days. You don't have to worry."
"Cao is naturally relieved."
Cao Cao nodded affirmatively and immediately asked: "But I don't know how many soldiers and horses the general has under his command?"
Gao Shun handed over his hand but did not hide anything: "More than eight hundred people."
Cao Cao was slightly startled: "Eight hundred?"
Cheng Li was even more stunned: "Only eight hundred people?"
"kindness."
Gao Shun nodded and cupped his hands: "General, don't worry. Although there are only 800 people under the general's command, they are all elite. They are equipped with the latest weapons developed by the imperial court. Even if they encounter ten thousand troops, they will still be able to fight."
"New weapons?"
Cao Cao suddenly remembered something and hurriedly turned to look at Liu Ye: "Zi Yang, your Majesty's letter mentioned that you brought people here with new siege equipment to help us attack Runan, right?"
"That's right."
Liu Ye nodded.
"oh?"
Cao Cao became interested: "I wonder what kind of weapon it is?"
Liu Ye bowed his head and said: "We call them ballistae. There are siege ballistae and movable ballistae for fighting in the wilderness."
"Ballista?"
Cao Cao suddenly frowned.
Obviously.
He was shocked by the tyrannical aura attached to the words.
It’s just a crossbow, but you actually add the word “cannon”?
Cao Cao thought he was very knowledgeable, but he had never heard of such a weapon.
Liu Ye knew that it was difficult for Cao Cao to understand, so he quickly took out the design sketch from his arms: "Now that we have talked about it, let me introduce these two kinds of crossbows to you."
"good."
Cao Cao couldn't wait any longer, so he cleared a place with his general, "I'd like to ask Ziyang to give me some advice."
Liu Ye stepped forward and slowly unfolded the design sketch. A very different instrument with a complex structure and the shape of a strong crossbow appeared in front of Cheng Li and Cao Cao.
hiss-!
Cao Cao was surprised: "Is this a ballista?"
Liu Ye nodded: "That's right! This is a siege-type ballista. In a sense, it is an upgraded version of the flying stone cart, except that it can withstand greater force and throw heavier things.
farther."
Cao Cao asked tentatively: "How far can it be?"
Liu Ye replied: "It depends on the weight of the thrown object. If it is an iron ball used to destroy the city wall, the effective range is between 600 and 700 steps. The city wall made of plain earth cannot bear it at all."
"Six hundred steps?"
Cao Cao looked in disbelief: "This...how is this possible? There is no wood that can withstand such a huge force."
Liu Yedan smiled: "It seems that General Cao has also considered innovating weapons."
"That's right."
Cao Cao did not hide anything and said with certainty: "The current catapult is not very effective. Cao has long had the idea to innovate the catapult to make it play a greater role. However, he tried various materials and could not withstand the greater force.
.”
"certainly."
Liu Ye nodded and gave an explanation: "Ordinary wood will not work, but your Majesty has developed a certain treatment method that can make the wood stronger."
"In addition, General, let's take a look. This huge crossbow body has a lot of reinforcement measures, which can make the crossbow body have a greater carrying capacity, so that it can accumulate more power and throw the iron ball."
Cao Cao stared at the ballista on the design sketch, describing all the details very clearly: "So it turns out that your Majesty is truly a god, and he can actually invent such a magical weapon."
"kindness."
Liu Ye deeply agreed with this: "Your Majesty is indeed the chosen one."
Especially, every time they have doubts, His Majesty the Emperor can always guide them from the simple to the deep.
This proves that His Majesty the Emperor has already mastered the knowledge points that they do not understand, otherwise how could he be able to guide them.
"Oh right."
After sighing with emotion, Cao Cao turned around and asked: "What if it were replaced by rocks and fire oil cans?"
Liu Ye was extremely sure: "The effective range is at least a thousand steps, but if the distance is too far, it will be difficult to aim accurately. Therefore, we have not yet tested the specific range limit."
"A thousand steps?"
Cao Cao's throat rolled, and his expression suddenly changed in surprise.
Such an attack distance has completely exceeded his cognitive scope.
"kindness."
But Liu Ye nodded firmly: "At least a thousand steps."
Cao Cao suppressed his shock and tried to keep calm: "What about this ballista?"
Liu Ye then explained: "This is a movable repeating crossbow. The upper part is loaded with special crossbow arrows. The lower chain is used to continuously reset the bow string. The effective range is more than three hundred steps."
"Three hundred steps?"
Cao Cao was horrified: "So far?"
Liu Ye nodded: "If you take more than 300 steps, you can shoot the enemy. Within 200 steps, the arrowhead will pierce the armor. If the distance is 100 steps, you can even knock people away."
"this......"
"It's incredible."
Cao Cao stared at the ballista on the diagram and tried to ask: "How long will it take you to build such a sophisticated machine?"
Liu Ye said softly: "We have brought all the key components here, but we still lack a large number of supporting and stress-bearing components. If the general can send some people to cooperate, we can build a siege crossbow in three days and half a day."
A mobile crossbow."
"So fast?"
Cao Cao looked in disbelief.
"but......"
Liu Ye was afraid that Cao Cao would misunderstand, so he quickly explained: "We only brought parts for five siege ballistas and fifty mobile ballistas. If the general wants to build more, it won't be in these days."
"Enough is enough."
Cao Cao nodded like a chicken pecking rice, excitedly: "Five siege ballistas are enough. This time we attack Yuan Shu's city, so we don't have to worry."
Cheng Li twisted his beard and smiled: "I was still worried about the lack of troops, but now looking at it, there are 20,000 to 30,000 people, which is enough to sweep through Runan and defeat Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao."
Cao Cao proudly said: "Yuan Shu will definitely be scared to death."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Everyone looked up to the sky and laughed:
"Yes, it is indeed so."
"Huh? How to deal with the iron ball?"
"General, don't worry, Yingchuan's blacksmith shop is refining it."
"Your Majesty is really thoughtful."
*****
Nanyang, Wancheng.
Chant Hall.
A boy hurriedly got into the crowd and replaced all the wooden signs he was carrying.
The hall was full of nobles in rich clothes, and they gathered around to watch:
"Damn it! These guys actually lowered themselves so much."
"What's the point of lowering the price too much? The land tax will be paid immediately. It's weird if it can be sold."
"This mother-in-law is going to die."
"My family still needs to hand over more than 600 shi of food this year."
"It's only more than 600 stones, our family has more than 800!"
"Okay! I have one thousand two hundred stone fields and I haven't complained yet."
"Well, the most terrible thing is that the Deng family and the Yin family have all handed over their land, and only we, the wealthy family, are left."
"There is a harvest in other people's fields. Can you compare with them?"
"The family is big and the business is big, we can handle it!"
"..."
There was a sigh of sadness in the whole hall.
At this moment, the private room on the second floor.
Near the window.
Deng Yun pinched a strand of goatee under his chin and calculated today's price in his mind: "Only a 20% reduction?"
The boy nodded: "Yes, this is the lowest price, there is nothing lower than this."
“How is the quality of the farmland?”
"Yes, it's a paddy field near the river."
"It's actually a paddy field?"
"kindness."
hiss-!
Deng Yun twisted his beard and pondered: "It seems that the major wealthy families are very anxious. They want to get rid of all the farmland before paying the land tax, and want to save part of the land tax."
"That's right."
The young man admired the old butler's cleverness: "This is like this. They all talk about it like this, saying that they can make up for it a little, just a little, and try not to lose too much."
"Old housekeeper."
The boy asked tentatively: "Are we going to take action? If we do it now, it will be more than half cheaper than before."
Deng Yun glanced at the boy and said disdainfully: "Why are you anxious! Since our Deng family wants to eat, we must eat with open stomachs. How can we eat with open bellies at such a high price?"
"ah?"
The boy was stunned: "Is this price still high?"
Deng Yun smiled solemnly: "Of course! If you ask me, it will fall by at least half more, otherwise I, Deng Yun, will never take action."
The boy was surprised and said: "If it falls again... falls by half? What if the Yin family and the Feng family come to take action? I heard that they have prepared a lot of money."
"snort!"
Deng Yun snorted disdainfully: "None of these guys are watching my movements, Deng Yun. If I don't take action, they will never take action. What's the use of having so much money in hand?"
"
"Don't worry."
Deng Yun was full of confidence: "Everything is under my control."
The boy bowed his head and said, "I admire you, little man. What should we do next?"
Deng Yun thought for a long time, and said with a sinister smile: "I heard that the imperial court has produced more than two stones per mu this year. I think the income from the land tax is enough to make up for the oral tax. Counting the tax, you spread the news quickly and say that the imperial court will definitely not abolish the benevolence."
make."
The direct reason for the rise and fall of farmland prices is whether the favor order is abolished or not.
Deng Yun knew this very well. As long as he could make reasonable inferences based on the actual situation, he could achieve his purpose of secretly controlling farmland prices.
If the imperial court does not abolish the favor order.
It's obvious!
The price of farmland will definitely drop again, or even cut in half, which is not impossible.
The young man naturally understood the meaning of Deng Yun's move, and immediately nodded and bowed: "Don't worry, old housekeeper, I will leave this matter to the villain. I guarantee that the news will be spread all over Wancheng within half a day."
"kindness."
Deng Yun nodded: "Don't waste time, go quickly."
The boy raised his hands and said, "Here."
"That's probably what happened today."
Deng Yun slowly stood up and straightened his clothes: "You can stay here, I want to go back to Xinye to report to the family leader about the situation of the sage ceremony, and try to get more money so that I can eat as much as I can."
The young man sent the room out in person: "Don't worry, old housekeeper, if there is any situation at the meeting, we and Pegasus will also report it."
"Thanks for your hard work."
"where."
Deng Yun left the meeting, took a carriage and went straight to Xinye.
At this moment, the Deng family in Xinye.
Octagon Pavilion.
While picking up flowers and plants, Deng Xun asked: "Can we deduce the court's grain harvest situation?"
Deng Tong nodded leisurely: "Well, we're out now."
Deng Xun stopped, raised his eyes and asked: "How?"
Gulu!
Deng Tong's throat rolled and he swallowed hard: "Master, the average yield per mu is about two stones and two buckets. If taxes and grains are added, the imperial court's income from Nanyang alone is enough to support the operation of the imperial court."
"Is the yield per mu really that high?"
Deng Xun looked in disbelief.
After all, the average grain yield from one acre of land is only one stone and five buckets, which is a full seven buckets difference between the two.
If one's own fields also have such a yield per mu, it is equivalent to half the income, which is hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and grass!
Deng Xun was heartbroken, as if he had lost hundreds of thousands of stones and grass.
"kindness."
Deng Tong nodded affirmatively: "The imperial court built twelve additional large granaries, among which there are two 100,000-stone granaries in Wancheng. Each has soldiers and horses stationed. It should not be fake."
Granaries in the Qin and Han dynasties were usually around one to twenty thousand shi in size. Only a few important ones were worth more than 100,000 shi. For example, the Xianyang granary in the Qin Dynasty was at the 100,000 shi level.
At the same time, there were grain storage warehouses built from the center of the imperial court to local areas. In general, the grain warehouses in the area were 10,000 stones and one storehouse. In terms of functional distribution, there was already a division of labor among reserve warehouses, operation warehouses, and supply warehouses.
During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, Changpingcang was added in various places, which mainly used the law of economic value to regulate grain prices and give full play to the role of grain stabilization in the market.
Since the imperial court has built a large number of granaries, it proves that the granaries in various places have been filled, and the two hundred thousand stone granaries built in Wancheng are further proof of this year's grain harvest.
"Two granaries of one hundred thousand stone level?"
Even Deng Xun couldn't help but be stunned.
"kindness."
Deng Tong nodded and tried his best to stay calm: "One is called Wanchengcang, which has the same meaning as the capital warehouse in Luoyang, and the other is near Duyang and is called Duyangcang. Its main purpose is to transport grain for the front line, but it is a transportation warehouse.
.”
hiss-!
Deng Xun was even more shocked.
This proves that the imperial court is very likely to launch a war this year.
The opponent must be Yuan Shu from Yuzhou or Zhang Miao from Chen Liu.
Of course, this proves from another aspect that the imperial court is really not short of food.
"Doesn't this mean..."
Deng Xun's throat rolled and he was horrified: "The imperial court has basically achieved food independence and does not need to rely on the power of our Nanyang family, right?"
"That's right."
Deng Tong was naturally aware of this: "I didn't expect that His Majesty would reach such a level in just one year. If he captures Runan again, his power will become even greater."
Nanyang and Runan were the two most populous and grain-producing counties in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Deng Xun simply could not imagine what role these two counties would play if they were all in the hands of the imperial court.
This is the capital of dominance!
Deng Xun stood up, washed away the stains on his hands, turned back to his seat, and waved his hand for Deng Tong to sit across from him: "My dear nephew, do you have any clues about the things you were asked to investigate?"
"No."
Deng Tong did not hide it and shook his head: "Now the imperial court's smelting and casting workshops have undergone major adjustments. Different workshops are responsible for different accessories."
"And there are a lot of things that we haven't seen before. It is really difficult to find a workshop that produces and processes balls and rings among hundreds of workshops."
"oh?"
Deng Xun frowned slightly: "Why has it changed so much?"
Deng Tong said softly: "I think this is the imperial court's anti-theft measure. Each workshop has different smelting levels and is used to produce different parts. The imperial court recycles these parts and then assembles them."
"In this way, even if there is a problem in any link, it will not affect the production of high-tube turning machines or other items in a short period of time."
"Well, that makes sense."
Deng Xun nodded with interest: "Your Majesty has really fantastic ideas. He can think of all these methods."
Deng Tong sighed: "Yes, my nephew has tracked down dozens of smelting workshops, but still hasn't found where the balls are produced. The owner of the family should be aware of the consequences of this matter. If it happens too often, once the flaw is exposed, I'm afraid it will be implicated.
To Deng’s house.”
"so......"
Before Deng Tong could finish speaking, Deng Xun waved his hand and interrupted: "I understand, you don't need to say anything further."
Deng Tong handed over his hand and said, "I'm really sorry. It's my nephew who failed to live up to the expectations of the family master."
"It doesn't matter."
Deng Xun did not mean to blame Deng Tong: "From now on, you don't have to investigate this matter."
Deng Tong frowned: "Oh? What does the head of the family mean?"
Deng Xun smiled faintly: "I forgot to tell you that our Deng family's craftsmen have already copied the high-tube swivel car."
"ah?"
Deng Tong was stunned for a moment: "This... how is this possible? Is it possible that they have overcome the difficulty of ball rolling skills?"
Deng Xun shook his head: "No!"
"Then how..."
"That's right."
Deng Xun explained: "Our Deng family craftsmen discovered that as long as the high-tube slewing car is reduced by one size and its bearing part is replaced with wood, it can still be used normally."
"only......"
Deng Xun said with a little regret: "There is just a slight gap in efficiency."
The high-tube turntable first appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Although there was a gap of several hundred years between the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, the outline is already there. The Deng family has traces to follow, so it is not difficult to build it.
Deng Tong suddenly realized: "Yes, as long as the frame of the turntable is reduced, or part of the wooden tube is reduced, the pressure on the bearings will inevitably be reduced. Why didn't I think of that?"
"It's very simple."
Deng Xun explained: "We were all blinded by the imperial court's high-tube waterwheels. We only knew to follow the court, but we never thought about building our own waterwheels."
"Although this high-tube transfer car is relatively small, it is enough to change the direction of the river. Coupled with the canal and water transfer, our Deng family can also increase the paddy field by more than 100,000 acres."
"Although it is far less extensive than the imperial irrigation system, it can create more than 100,000 acres of paddy fields and increase the yield per mu by 10%. There is still no big problem."
Deng Tong looked in disbelief: "Our Deng family's craftsmen have made meritorious deeds."
Deng Xundan smiled: "Although it is not as good as the imperial court's high-speed transfer, at least we will have confidence next year."
"That's right."
Deng Tong relaxed and felt relieved: "Even if the court still does not abolish the favor order next year, based on this, we, the tenants of the Deng family, can survive."
"Master of the house."
At this point, Deng Tong leaned forward and handed over his hand: "My nephew suggested that we should start preparations as soon as possible. In this way, the tenants of the Deng family can rest assured that our configuration is the same as that of the imperial court."
Ever since the news spread that the imperial court's grain yield exceeded two dan per mu, the people in Nanyang were completely excited. Since everyone is plowing the fields, why not go to places where the yield per mu is high?
Although the court's land tax is relatively large, firstly, the yield per mu is high, secondly, new agricultural tools are distributed, and thirdly, it can reduce the oral tax and calculate the tax. Overall, the imperial land per mu is still more cost-effective.
There is no harm without comparison.
Those people who did not cultivate public land were already jealous and began to inquire whether there would be policies like this year next year. Many people even stopped at the gate of the county government office to ask.
The hearts of Nanyang farmers were completely disturbed!
But......
"No need!"
Deng Xun refused without hesitation, and a hint of indignity appeared on the corners of his lips: "If we stand up the high-tube rotating car, wouldn't we tell the Yin family that the high-tubing rotating car can be copied?"
"How can we allow the Yin family to take advantage of the things that our Deng family has worked so hard to develop, and let them continue to pay attention to the imperial smelting and casting workshops?"
"snort!"
Deng Xun snorted angrily, with a ferocious look on his brows: "This time, I want to see what this old guy Yin Lu has to argue with my Deng family."
"Good nephew." Deng Xun turned around and greeted.
"Here." Deng Tong handed over his hand.
"Although you don't need to investigate anymore, you still need to take the necessary actions. Now the Deng family in Nanyang is the most popular family in Nanyang. If you suddenly stop making any movements, they will definitely arouse their suspicion."