Even just walking around and watching the flowers was not too time-consuming. By the time a group of ten people rode out of the warehouse in the north of the mountain, it was already around 5 o'clock in the afternoon.
Although the sun has turned to the west, it is still as strong as a wheel, and the roasted earth is as hot as fire. Even if the wind blows, it is like opening a steamer, feeling hot and stuffy.
The willow trees on the shore looked as if they had been sunburned, and the tree branches drooped to the ground, swaying in the wind. I came across a big fat dog, lying weakly under the tree, with its tongue hanging out, panting like a bellows.
Not only did he bark when he saw a stranger, he didn't even bother to raise his eyelids.
After walking for another half an hour, crossing the Heli Mountain from the river to the school grounds in the south of the mountain, I felt a little better.
First, the sky is getting late and the heat is gradually disappearing. Second, the school grounds are close to the river, and there are willows planted near it, which has become a forest, so it gradually becomes cooler and more comfortable as we walk.
Li Chengzhi took Liu Fang and others to Beiying, where the artillery camp was located.
Now that all the armies are on expedition, the artillery of the two guards has also been separated and sent to various ministries. Only the guard general Li Zhang stayed in the West Sea.
When there was nothing going on, Li Chengzhi ordered him to prepare the new army and focus on training the artillerymen.
Although he only practiced for more than a month, he was better because Li Zhang practiced it personally, taught by words and deeds, and was meticulous in every detail. As a result, the soldiers got started very quickly and now they are quite impressive.
Having previously ordered Li Xiao to explain, Li Zhang was already ready when Li Chengzhi entered the camp.
It was getting late, and it was only an hour before nightfall, and once the sun set, vision would be compromised. So as soon as Fang entered the camp, Li Chengzhi took Liu Fang and others to Beishan.
This is not only a place for the artillery battalion to test artillery, but also a training place for each battalion. Almost every half a month, each guard sends a battalion of new soldiers, and then they are mixed into a guard and come here to practice siege.
Since it is a place for training, there is no need to actually build a city, it is just a single wall. It is only about five feet high and is covered with red bricks inside and outside.
Walking to the bottom of the city, Yuan Yuan looked up and couldn't help but said "Hey": "It's just a short two miles of city wall, why are there new ones and old ones?"
Do you have good eyesight?
Li Chengzhi secretly praised and replied: "Every five days, each guard will send a battalion of new troops here, and the six guards will be the six battalions, and then they will be mixed into two guards and trained here.
Since it is for practical training, it is necessary to climb the city. Therefore, before each battle, the artillery camp must bombard it. Until the city is broken, we will divide the enemy and ourselves again, attack and defend... After that, the rear camp will be called in for repairs.
Therefore, there are new and old city walls..."
Yang Shu asked curiously: "If we want to attack the city, we must also climb the city. Do you think there will be casualties?"
"With only a dozen cannons, most of the city can be destroyed, leaving only six or seven feet. Even if you stumble and fall into the city, you won't fall to death. Most of them will just scratch the skin and flesh, and occasionally some will break muscles and bones...
And those who are seriously injured will naturally be rewarded based on their military merits. Therefore, few soldiers are afraid of difficulties, but they all strive to be the first..."
Li Chengzhi sighed leisurely, "Sun Tzu said: If you are kind but can't control it, if you love but you can't command it, if you are chaotic but you can't control it, you are like a arrogant man who cannot be used... It is said that kindness cannot lead an army. This is the truth. So you have a lot of time to train.
If you sweat, you will bleed less during war..."
Even though he had expected it, he was shocked to the point of numbness. Yuan Yuan still couldn't help his pupils shrinking sharply and his heart trembling slightly.
For the Chinese army of the imperial court, at most, they only train once every three days (assembly training), once every ten days (queue), and once a month (similar to a small-scale exercise). And when they drill, they can only practice changing skills at most.
Formation, change of formation, and reaching the sky means the cavalry camp is ordered to perform a cavalry shooting performance in the school field.
Li Chengzhi, on the other hand, doesn't care if he doesn't train day and night. He can do it once every five days. But during the drill, what he was training was actually attacking and defending the city?
This is no different from actual combat...
"The artillery was actually used during a drill?"
Even Yang Shu couldn't help but feel sad for Li Chengzhi, "You are so rich in firearms in Xihai?"
Li Chengzhi smiled slightly: "I dare not say that it is inexhaustible, but it will be no problem to deal with the battles like the defeat of Rouran and Tuyuhun at the beginning of spring and a dozen more times..."
How about ten more battles involving hundreds of thousands of people?
Seeing that he was calm and calm, Liu Fang just thought that he was telling the truth, and her face turned pale.
Little did they know that the more Li Chengzhi lied, the calmer he became.
Regardless of soldiers or food, there is still a little room for change, and only gunpowder is available. It is really at the end of the mountain and there is no way to survive. Otherwise, why would Li Chengzhi just retreat from the slope and temporarily suspend his troops when the situation is overwhelming?
Not to mention the battle involving hundreds of thousands, no matter which one of the three Cui Yanbo, Xing Luan, or Yuan Yao dared to sink the boat, all the jade and stone would be burned, and Li Chengzhi would sit on his deathbed.
Either withdraw the troops, or use real swords and guns to kill people.
In Li Chengzhi's own words, today's Xihai is a strong one on the outside but a weak one on the other, like a paper tiger that can fall over at a blow...
While he was talking, Li Chengzhi got off his horse and led a few people to climb the city wall. This was to avoid Liu Fang thinking he was cheating and to let the others see whether the city was high or strong.
After climbing the city wall, they realized that the city was more than two feet thick and the city roads were wide enough for two cars to drive abreast.
Both the inside and outside are built with bricks and stones. In terms of solidity, it is not much better than the outer city of Luojing.
If you look closely, it looks like a poor peasant's cold clothes, with patches everywhere, and many places seem to have been burned by fire.
Seeing that the sun was turning to the west and was approaching the top of the mountain, Li Chengzhi only took everyone for a cursory look before returning to the front of the formation.
Li Zhang had already ordered his soldiers to lift their artillery jackets, and ten cannons stood in front of the formation. They were polished and reflected a frightening cold light in the setting sun.
Naturally, he came here to see what happened. Liu Fang immediately dismounted his horse, ran to the cannon body in two or two steps, and took a closer look.
With just one glance, he knew that this thing was made of fine iron. Just by squatting, it weighed three to four hundred kilograms.
However, it is equipped with gun mounts at the front and rear, and is equipped with iron wheels, so it is extremely flexible when moving.
Yuan Yuan tried it and found that he could pull it with just his own strength.
There is no shortage of horses in the Western Sea, so long-distance marches are not enough to worry about. The only thing is to build more carts and recruit more livestock.
The most important thing is that it can be moved with human power?
Doesn't it mean that if there is a war, you can move this thing as close as you want, even if you fight against the city wall, there will be no problem?
While he was in shock and doubt, he heard a strange "crunching" sound next to him. Yuan Yuan looked sideways and saw Yang Shu shaking something like a wheel.
As it turned, the cannon body gradually lifted up and pointed diagonally towards the sky. When it could no longer turn, Yang Shu called another direction, only to see the cannon body fall down again.
When there was no way to go down, Yang Shu stopped, pointed at the scale with numbers engraved under the wheel, and asked breathlessly: "What is the use of this thing?"
"It's just a measuring instrument, just like the ink ruler used by craftsmen, the grain bucket used by warehouse officials, the steelyard used by merchants..."
Li Chengzhi pointed to the cannon, and then pointed to the city wall in the distance, "At this moment, if we hit the fake city two miles away, how far is the cannon head from the ground? If it is closer or farther, how far will the cannon head be?"
Whether it should be taller or shorter is measured by this thing..."
Yang Shu's eyes bulged: "In this way, it is equivalent to a certain number. Wouldn't it be possible for a child and a woman to use this thing to attack the enemy just by imitating a cat and a tiger?"
Li Chengzhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Although it's not that easy, it's not difficult."
Compared with other arms, the biggest feature of artillery is that it does not require close combat to kill the enemy, and the safety factor is much higher.
Moreover, after many improvements, all tiger squatting cannons (weighing thirty kilograms) or above are equipped with a steerable gun mount. There are many livestock and vehicles in the West Sea, so the artillerymen do not need to be strong and strong.
Regardless of loading, direction, angle, etc., there are fixed procedures and it is not complicated. Almost the whole process is fool-like operation. Therefore, with a little training, the rear army can be recruited as artillery.
Therefore, for Li Chengzhi, among all the military services in the West China Sea, artillery is the easiest to train, the easiest to use, the easiest to fight, and the safest.
Of course, this is only for ordinary soldiers. But all soldiers above the rank of corps commander are carefully selected and trained thousands of times.
After replying, Li Chengzhi smiled again and said, "If Mr. Yanrong is interested, how about you light the first shot?"
Yang Shu smiled happily: "Of course I can't ask for it!"
When he agreed, Li Chengzhi turned his head again, smiled at Liu Fang and said: "The temple minister can point to any place at will and try the effect!"
Liu Fang was impatient for a long time. She took the telescope handed by Li Cong, searched for a while, and then pointed to the arrow tower at the left end of the city wall: "That's it!"
Li Chengzhi followed the good example and nodded towards Li Zhang.
Seeing that the big man, who was nearly seven feet tall and looked like an iron tower, turned around and turned the cannon, the eyes of several people naturally focused on him.
The process of loading the cannon is actually very simple: first stuff the packing paper package into the barrel, then use a long rod with a wooden plug attached to the front end and wrapped in soft cloth to push it firmly, and then load the iron bullets.
The tail of the lead wire is connected with a wooden thorn, which can directly pierce the medicine package and then light the fire.
I saw that Li Zhang was very orderly and the whole process only took twenty breaths. Then he blew the fire and lit the coal stove.
After a pause, he handed the fire folder to Yang Shu again: "We are afraid that sparks will splash out and detonate the gunpowder in the car, so we usually don't use torches, we just burn the iron drill red to ignite the fire. If Yanrong Gong doesn't
If you are willing to wait, you can use this thing to start a fire..."
Yang Shu took the fire, and with a slight thought in his mind, he pointed at the cart behind him: "What will happen if a fire is set in that cart?"
Li Zhang suddenly choked, rolled his eyes and stared at Yang Shu.
Whether in wartime, training, or even during drills, what Li Zhang fears most is that his subordinates will be distracted and nervous, which will cause catastrophe.
It's not like it never happened?
In the past, gunners' barrels exploded due to mistakes in operation, or the ammunition boxes ignited from time to time. Therefore, Li Zhang became more and more powerful and his subordinates became even more strict.
For example, the medicine box must be three feet away from the artillery, and the artilleryman carrying the medicine must not bring igniting objects. When charging, loading, and even clearing the barrel, he must not face the muzzle directly, etc., all of which are accumulated with blood.
experience.
Seeing that his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, Li Chengzhi suddenly laughed and couldn't help but cursed: "You fool, Mr. Yanrong just said it unintentionally, and he didn't really mean to set the car on fire, so why do you need to be angry?"
As he spoke, he explained to Yang Shu: "If the car is really set on fire, there will be no grass growing within three feet..."
Yang Shu couldn't help being startled and felt horrified: This thing is actually a double-edged sword. It can not only hurt the enemy, but also hurt yourself?
The shock in his heart flashed away, he calmed down again, and blew up the fire: "But can you light the fuse?"
"You can do anything you want!"
Li Chengzhi replied and reminded, "When the fuse ignites, please cover your ears to avoid deafness!"
He had long heard rumors that the sound of firearms in the West Sea was like thunder, so Yang Shu followed suit and said: "I can save it!"
Then he lit the fuse and retreated to Li Chengzhi.
The cannon is heavy, and there are spikes under the wheels to stabilize the cannon body. There are also sandbags on the tail of the cannon. Moreover, the cannon is made of steel, so there is no need to worry about hurting people if the barrel explodes.
It was only because he was afraid of too much dust that Li Chengzhi reminded a few people to step back.
I just heard the sound of "chichi" and saw that the fuse was getting shorter and shorter as it burned. Finally, the sparks disappeared into the eye of the wire, and then I heard a loud "dong" sound.
Even though she had been prepared for it, Liu Fangyi felt her ears tingling. Suddenly she felt a shaking under her feet, as if the mountain was shaking. Liu Fang was startled and subconsciously took two steps back.
If Yuan Yuan hadn't been sharp-eyed, he would have almost sat on the ground.
Liu Fang ignored her embarrassment and quickly picked up her telescope and looked towards the arrow tower.
He practiced at these places every day, over time and over a period of time, sometimes even thousands of times. Li Zhang could hit him with his eyes closed, so how could he miss?
So when Liu Fang saw a cloud of smoke rising from the arrow tower at the east end, although Liu Fang was surprised, she was still within reason.
But in just a blink of an eye, the smoke and dust were blown away by the wind. When she saw a big hole in half of the wall of the arrow tower, Liu Fang trembled in her heart.
Just as he was in shock and doubt, he heard Li Chengzhi's order: "No need to ask for orders, just blow down the arrow tower..."
Then he invited Liu Fang and others: "Only one shot was fired just now, so there was not much smoke. When ten shots are fired later, the sky will be full of smoke and dust. So I invite you to go up to the building and take a closer look."
some……"
A few people were indispensable and followed Li Chengzhi to the watchtower behind the artillery array.
After a few people entered the building, Li Zhang began to give orders. He only heard him say how high the cannon was, move left for a few seconds, and with just a few words, the cannons started to move.
At this time, Liu Fang and others had a glimpse of the whole situation: for every ten people squatting on the gun, six people were responsible for moving the gun stand and stabilizing the gun body, and one of the other four people adjusted the angle and height, one person moved the gun, one filled the gun, and one filled the gun.
The bomb is fired, and finally the chief responsible for adjusting the angle is ignited.
This time, ten guns were fired at once, so the noise was naturally louder. Li Chengzhi didn’t need to remind them, as several people had covered their ears early.
The gunpowder is custom-packed, and the packaging leads are all of the same length, so the ten squat guns fire almost at the same time.
Several people felt a violent shaking under their feet, and then saw smoke and dust billowing from the city wall in the distance.
Before the smoke and dust cleared, Li Zhang gave another order, and the artillery crew started loading again.
This time I had to clean the gun barrel, so it took a little longer. About half a word (three minutes), I heard another salvo.
Seeing that Li Zhang no longer gave orders, but watched with a telescope, a few people realized: The arrow tower... collapsed?