Eight days later, Jiujiang City welcomed homing pigeons flying back from the outside for the first time. Once the pigeons that have been raised in Jiujiang City for a long time are released outside, they will fly back to their nests. Ruichang has been occupied, and 60,000 soldiers are sent to the southeast of Bali Lake...
This short line proves that Zhou Mengxiong's reinforcements are progressing smoothly. The main force of Zhang Fu's army is besieged near Jiujiang, and I am afraid that it will not be able to stop Zhou Mengxiong's eastward advance in time.
The weather was fine the next day, the sky was clear, the sun was bright, and there was no wind. After entering winter, such weather was really rare, so it was the right time. Zhang Ning decided to make good use of today's good weather to conduct experiments.
The war was imminent, and life and death depended on it. At this critical moment, Zhang Ning was tinkering with this mysterious thing with great fanfare, which was really hard for his subordinates to understand. However, he was the supreme commander, and no one could stop his actions.
A piece of the house within the southern city wall has been demolished, and the Central Avenue site has been added, leaving a wide open space. A brick-built and earth-sealed kiln has been prepared, and charcoal has been placed in it. Some soldiers are carrying it over
The colorful big bag is spread out and flattened on all sides. This strange thing is mainly sewn with a whole piece of silk. If the silk is not enough, there are even cotton pieces patched together. Red, green, green, and white pieces are put together in all kinds of ways, as if they are full of patches.
The sail is then smeared with tung oil to seal it.
From time to time, there was a sound of artillery fire outside the city, sparsely, but it was obvious that the army had no intention of attacking the city today; in the few months since Jiujiang was besieged, there have been very few truly fierce siege battles, and Zhang Furao could not bear it even with his men and horses.
The casualties incurred by the continuous assault on the city wall were incurred.
People have long been accustomed to the never-ending sound of artillery, and many soldiers on the city wall are leaning on the wall to watch. During this period, the morale of the army was much better than before. The victory of the North Road Battle and the news of the arrival of reinforcements gave people hope.
Zhang Ning was riding a horse, wandering around the kiln gesticulating and talking, and many people were watching. When the guards were about to install the boiler and pipes, he asked Li Zhen to drive the onlookers away, threatening that it might explode if it was not done properly.
Next to the "Sail", a little sergeant was joking with his superior officer with a playful smile. The superior officer could tolerate the disrespect at this time, because this thin and small sergeant went into battle as a death soldier. He was wearing very thin clothes.
The torso is tied tightly with ropes, and then two ropes are tied from the shoulders and tied to the ropes connecting the "sail". This long rope is a silk rope to reduce weight.
The charcoal piled inside the kiln burned red, so people followed the order and sealed the openings on both sides with bricks and mud, leaving only two round holes for inserting pipes. The pipes that were carried were as thick as a man's arm, and they were also spliced: the two ends were covered with iron sheets
The forged iron pipe is spliced with bamboo tubes in the middle to save material.
The water in several large pots here was boiling one after another. The guard sealed the pot with lids and connected the pipe to the pot lid. After a while, white steam began to come out from the other end of the pipe. Zhang Ning shouted loudly and burned it with high fire.
After a while, all the water coming out of the other end of the pipe was water vapor. At this time, it was connected to an opening in the earthen kiln. The other opening was also connected to a round pipe and covered with mud.
After waiting for a while, it was estimated that the air in the kiln and the pipe was almost exhausted, so the sergeants covered their mouths with wet cloths and went up to connect the outlet pipe to the "sail" air port. Several big men with thick waists and round arms stood there.
Grab the canvas there.
The huge "sail" slowly rose up as if the wind was blowing. After a long time, an irregular balloon that was larger than a house gradually rose lightly. If it weren't for a few big men pulling it,
It looked like the formation was about to fly up.
The soldiers who were watching from far and near opened their mouths wide, waiting to see the strange thing in front of them. The giant balloon was colorful and almost oval, like a huge ugly winter melon, which really attracted people's attention. And
There are actually a few big characters written in black ink on it: King Yan rebelled against the party and gained the country. He was not upright and God's anger gave me back the mountains and rivers.
When a few big men got the order, they pulled out the tubes and tied the mouth. As soon as they let go, the balloons actually flew up and were strung up. The sergeant who was tied below was pulled by the rope, the sole of his foot was light, and he yelled "Wow"
stand up.
The surrounding soldiers were in an uproar, cheering and watching this strange thing fly into the sky.
Zhang Ning shouted and warned: "Don't be afraid, I will pull you down in a while! When you go up, be sure to keep an eye on the enemy's troop deployment!"
"Mom, it's flying, so high!" the little sergeant above shouted loudly, waving his arms but couldn't find the point of focus. However, the airtightness of this balloon is really poor, and the bottom of the balloon will "chichi" when it is heavy, and the hot air will leak out.
, fortunately it is still rising slowly.
The city suddenly became lively, with people shouting happily, and many waving in the air. Xin Wei, who was standing next to Zhang Ning, was also stunned: "It really flew up, how could it..."
Yu Qian also raised his head and watched with interest, constantly stroking the light beard on his chin with his hand.
However, the balloon showed signs of stagnating soon after it flew up. The height was difficult to test for a while, but it was already far beyond the tallest tower. Zhang Ning was afraid that too much air would leak and he fell down and killed the person... Although he tried scientifically
There is always a price to pay, sometimes even human life, but if the sergeant died, who would tell Zhang Ning about the troop deployment? Zhang Ning decisively ordered the big men to pull the ropes to pull down the balloon.
After a long time, the little sergeant was hugged by the people below. The people next to him cut the rope with a knife, and slowly strung the balloon up again. After the little sergeant landed, he sat down on the ground, his face turned pale.
Zhang Ning walked forward and asked with a smile: "The horizon is not straight, is it curved?"
The sergeant nodded vigorously and stared at Zhang Ning, not caring about any etiquette. Zhang Ning waited for him to take a breath, and then asked seriously: "Have you seen clearly the deployment of the army camp?"
The sergeant nodded vigorously again: "Captain Li gave you a lot of advice this morning. Even though I was scared to death, I paid close attention to it, but I didn't dare to miss the big deal." A nearby military general took the opportunity to show his face and said: "Wang Er is from the observation post of the artillery camp.
Soldiers have good eyesight, and they have carefully considered their choices when selecting them."
Zhang Ning glanced at the attendants, and the guards lifted the sergeant up and took him directly to the governor's carriage.
...The giant balloon flew high into the sky and could be seen from far and near, causing a considerable impact on the officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers of each battalion suddenly saw such a thing flying in the sky, and they all looked up. When the generals came to scold them, everyone
I have been thinking about it for a long time.
Of course, people can't understand why such a big thing can fly into the air, which is beyond the scope of Ming Dynasty people's cognition; everyone's feeling is as if modern people suddenly saw a huge flying saucer suspended in the air, and there was no reverse airflow.
Abnormal phenomena that cannot be discussed using aerodynamics will also shock people on earth.
Rumors abounded in the military camp, and curiosity was hard to control. Even a general at the rank of general said in public: "I have lived half my life and have seen birds flying in the sky, but I have never seen anything like this fly."
Some people say that it is the summoning of ghosts, gods and witchcraft, just like Zhuge Liang can borrow wind from the sky. This interpretation is believed by the most people. Because in this era, materialism is not yet the mainstream, and even the emperor, civil and military officials, have to offer sacrifices to heaven.
Gods, let alone the general public; and various legends and dramas are deeply rooted in people's hearts, everyone believes that there are indeed ghosts, gods and mysterious things in the world, even if they have never seen them with their own eyes.
It is incredible that the rebels can use magic. Legend has it that Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty cheated when he was in a bad mood and summoned huge rocks from the sky to kill his opponent's hundreds of thousands of troops... How could such a battle be fought?!
It was also rumored that the elite troops of the North Route Army in Beijing were beaten and almost wiped out by peasants temporarily brought in by Wuchang Prefecture. Maybe the entire family of Prince Xiang were ghosts or gods, and the North Route Army was also killed by huge rocks!
People were panicked, and everyone felt that all the blood and sweat for so long and for months was in vain.
There are also some big words on the balloon, and some people can see clearly. King Yan's family's injustice in the country angered God? This kind of words can't help but arouse the random thoughts of some generals... This has never happened before, starting from Zhu Di
I have been on the throne for more than 20 years now. Who cares about whose family belongs to the world? But now it has stirred up people's hearts. After all, it is a fact.
Zhang Fu issued a strict order to all battalions and troops on the same day, strictly prohibiting spreading rumors to disturb the morale of the army, and violators would be severely punished without mercy. The British officials kept their word, and the discussion was suppressed. The soldiers did not dare to say too much because they respected the military order...
...But doubts still remain in the hearts of thousands of soldiers, and they cannot be relieved. Unless Zhang Fu can come up with credible words to explain what so many people saw this morning.
Zhang Fu obviously couldn't explain it, and even he himself was very confused. His staff were also speechless, and among them there were officials who had a Jinshi background and were well-educated. They didn't know what was going on.
The staff came up with suggestions on how to boost the morale of the army, but every one of them was useful. For example, the rebels used evil and evil methods to deceive the enemy, but the evil and evil methods were inherently mysterious and of no avail.
"It's so evil, it's so evil..." A staff member just sighed, and suddenly there was a "bang" sound. Everyone looked sideways and saw Zhang Fu's eyes widening in anger, and he dropped the teacup on the ground.
Zhang Fu did not mention today's strange thing, but instead directed his anger towards Zhu Mian, "Zhu Mian is a wine bag and rice bag, I have given you this important task in vain! The tens of thousands of troops in the Beijing camp could not stop the ragtag group of people, and they were annihilated in a swarm of bullets.
In the land, soldiers, the most important thing for the country, and the survival of the country, are actually regarded as child's play. It is not an exaggeration to punish the nine tribes for such a serious crime!"
All the civil and military officials were speechless, and one could hear a pin being dropped in the tent.
At this moment, someone suddenly stood up and said calmly: "You can see far if you stand high. I believe that the strange objects placed by the rebels today are to spy on our army's deployment."
When Zhang Fu looked back, he saw a young man wearing a blue round-neck official uniform. He had a delicate face and was very short. He was Yang Sihai, an official of the Ministry of War and a former Jinshi.
Yang Sihai said again: "The sage did not speak of supernatural powers, and the lower officials are too inexperienced to explain today's strange phenomena. However, they do not believe that there are people in the world who can call the wind and rain to summon gods and ghosts. Nowadays, we cannot make random plans for small things. We can only follow the art of war.
It is best to deal with the rebels as soon as possible."