The rainy season in Mexico starts softly, like a young girl. The sun was hidden behind thin clouds, dyeing the sky a light golden color. The continuous drizzle fell in the faint sunshine, soaking the trees and grass into green.
The water mist on the riverside was filled with hazy smoke, and several small boats came out of the misty rain, making gentle ripples on the river. Seeing this scene, Shulot couldn't help but recall and miss the distant water town in the south of the Yangtze River.
Two weeks have passed since I met with the envoys from the city-state of Hilotepec. Although the chief commander has dropped his harsh words, it will still be a year before the harsh words are realized. The nobles of Xilotepec still had time to hesitate, quarrel, and look forward to reinforcements from their western allies who didn't know when they would arrive.
At this time, he was in the forest by the river, directing some carpenters and laborers to use rough stone axes to cut down the hard rosewood with great effort.
This slightly concave rosewood is an extremely excellent mahogany, which can grow to a height of twenty to twenty-five meters. It has a hard texture, beautiful texture, clear tone, and a light fragrance.
It is generally used to make high-end guitars and high-end furniture, and every inch of wood is valuable in later generations. Now, Shulot is going to use it to make a catapult.
With the help of a senior carpenter, he has completed the design of the human catapult: it is a fixed trapezoidal gun mount, four or five meters high, about the same as a city wall. A slender cannon tip used as a lever, the length is temporarily set at eight meters, with a magazine pouch attached to the top and a rope pulled by a person at the bottom. There is also a gun shaft placed horizontally on the gun mount. The middle of the gun shaft and the bottom two meters of the gun tip are tied together with sisal rope.
In this way, when the gunner pulls the rope, the two-meter short axis of the gun tip drives the six-meter long axis. The gun axis maintains stable rotation on the stand, and the rocks at the top are launched, bombarding the distant city in a parabola.
However, when the design was implemented into the actual object, Shulot encountered the first problem: the gun shaft and gun tip were under too much force and could easily break.
Not understanding the connection technology of wood reinforcement, nor the hardening treatment method of wood, Xuelote could only come up with a simple and crude idea to use the best wood. The carpenter recommended Dalbergia.
Cutting this hard wood with a stone ax is like sawing a tree with a knife. So an hour later, when Avitt found Xiulote, he was still sitting on a stone by the river, boredly watching the civilian workers at work.
"By the way, can you get me some copper axes?"
"You have to borrow this kind of excellent equipment from the Broken Hair Guards. They are the only ones in the camp currently who have it. Of course, the premise is that they are willing to lend it to you."
"Then I might as well ask the king for it." Thinking of Totec, who had broken hair, tattoos, and a rock-like face, Shulot felt a lot of pressure. "At least the king looks much easier to talk to."
Avitt laughed "haha" without comment. "I have business with you today. Put down the big toy you are holding. There will be a battle in the next few days. I have applied to the king and will take you to watch the battle. We have to set off tonight."
"What battle? Wait, what toy? I'm making a catapult, an epoch-making weapon."
"The battle to ambush the Otomians. Otopan's first batch of 20,000 reinforcements has been setting off for a week, and soon they are within the ambush range of the elite legion. Beyond the times? Wait until your toys become usable weapons. Bar."
"When did the Legion set up the ambush?" Shulot thought for a while, "You mean the group of warriors who disappeared a few days ago."
"Hey, when did you see it? It seems that this legion is still not very cautious in its actions."
"Okay, I'll go. Why do you suddenly want to take me to watch the battle?... Avitt, you want to go to the battle yourself, right?"
Avitt smiled but said nothing.
"Don't stop, we must cut down the rosewood trees in the next two days..."
After taking off the priest's uniform, Shulot put on the green leather armor and battle robe. He looked full of energy, and his delicate face gradually showed strong lines.
Take a short rest and tidy up at the campsite. Then, accompanied by a hundred or so guards, the two of them bypassed the city and headed west from the northern forest.
Marching through mountain forests during the rainy season is difficult. Shulot trudged hard on the soft humus land, with no sunlight above his head, tangled roots under his feet, and his body was soaked with rain.
However, this kind of difficulty is not at the same level as the tropical rain forests on the northeast or southeast plains. The rainforest in the rainy season is a nightmare for large-scale marches, with swamps, poisons, miasmas, and water sources, each of which means inevitable death.
After marching like this for two days, on the morning of the third day, the two finally arrived at the ambush legion's camp, a small platform behind a hill.
The camp maintained an orderly silence, and from time to time Shulot saw jaguar warriors wearing tiger-head feather helmets, yellow patterned leather armor, and carrying shields and clubs on their backs.
Avitt led Xilot into the big tent in the middle. The commander in the tent, Xilot, had seen him. He was one of the commanders wearing a sunstone cloak, with a picture of a war stick behind him.
"Casar." Avitt greeted the commander warmly. "What's the situation with the enemy?"
Cassar just nodded and smiled lightly. "Twenty thousand people from Otopan. Five thousand are city-state warriors, and fifteen thousand are village levies."
"There are only five thousand warriors? What's the use of so many people coming to support us?"
"This reinforcement is just a formality. Their march is very slow, only a dozen miles a day, and the scouts are deployed far away. They spend most of the time waiting for reports from the scouts. The determination to fight is very problematic. I guess once they see the situation, they will lose their strength. Wonderful, they will retreat."
"In their familiar territory, the heavily armed warriors cannot catch up with these mountain people." Avitt nodded, "Then what are you going to do?"
"We have eight thousand warriors. I am going to divide the troops into three groups and take the initiative to attack. If you come over just in time, the four thousand warriors will be handed over to you to attract attention from the front. After the battle, Barda will lead two thousand warriors to attack from the left wing. And I took 500 Jaguar elites and 1,500 warriors, detoured to the rear and launched the final blow." After Casal said this, he waved his fist vigorously.
A strong warrior next to him smiled at Avitt. This was Barda. Judging from the patterns on his helmet and leather armor, he should be a hereditary noble of the Eagle Warriors.
Eight thousand versus 20,000 troops need to be divided into three groups and attack at different times? Shulot's head was full of questions. Seeing the confident expressions of all the generals in the tent, he temporarily suppressed his doubts.
Returning to the camp, the warriors rested early to accumulate strength for the next day's battle.
Lying on the officer's thatched bed, the tips of the grass have a natural smell and are slightly poignant. This kind of straw bed is already much more comfortable than the soldiers' ground bunks. Shulot mentioned his question to Avitt.
"There is no absolute relationship between the combat effectiveness of the troops and their numbers." Avitt replied with a chuckle. "It depends on the specific combat terrain and scene, as well as physical consumption."
"For example, a Jaguar warrior can easily fight against three ordinary warriors and ten village warriors before his physical strength is exhausted, especially in narrow terrain. But in a siege battle, he can only be regarded as an ordinary warrior. Village warrior, because a stone thrown by a village warrior can kill him.”
"And a village slinger can only be regarded as half a village warrior in close combat. If he is given enough launch time, he can be regarded as an ordinary warrior. Once he occupies the advantageous terrain, in the mountains or defending the city, , shooting from a high position, he is even more lethal than the Jaguar Warrior."
"On the other side, there are only five thousand city-state warriors worth paying attention to. On a large-scale frontal battlefield, village warriors are more used to maintain the battle line, or to consume the opponent's spears and stones. The simple stone spears and wooden spears make them more effective against armored warriors. The damage is limited, and the sparse shields and armor make them more vulnerable. Low morale makes them more likely to collapse."
"Actually, warriors, only warriors are the core of a city-state! Tomorrow's battle will not be difficult, and it will just allow you to see the world. Shulot, sleep peacefully~~"
