Under the supervision of Cai Mao, it took 100,000 civilians and nearly a year to finally open up five official roads.
According to Zhang Xiu's plan, the official road was one foot and five feet wide, which was about five meters wide in later generations. The road was flat and closely connected all areas.
Of course, spending such a huge amount of manpower and material resources is not only to develop the economy, but more importantly, to prepare for a fast battle.
The speed that Zhang Xiu wanted was not for the infantry to run forward, but to ride in a car. Later generations used high-end technological products such as cars, trains, and airplanes to transport soldiers. It was impossible to achieve this in the late Han Dynasty. , but Zhang Xiu has Zhang Xiu's method.
That is to develop a high-horsepower carriage.
After repeated experiments, it was finally determined that the pulling power of one horse was four people, and that eight horses could pull thirty-two people running quickly. In this way, based on the horsepower, a car was designed that was one foot wide (about three meters) and about one foot long. The carriage is two feet long (approximately four meters). It has six rows of seats and five people across them. It can accommodate a total of thirty people.
The shaft of the carriage is made of steel and bearings are made, which not only speeds up the movement of the carriage, but also makes the carriage durable. The four large wheels greatly increase the movement speed of the infantry.
Inside the craftsman camp.
Eight war horses pulled a huge carriage and galloped quickly through the venue. Thirty soldiers were sitting in the carriage. The hard wooden wheels flew past, raising large amounts of flying dust.
Gan Ning looked at such a huge carriage and smiled from ear to ear. If there were enough carriages, the speed of the infantry would be no less than that of the cavalry. In a battle, they would be able to catch the enemy by surprise.
Think about it, when the two sides start a war, the enemy troops are still walking halfway, and they are already approaching the city. Speed determines the initiative in the war.
"How is this thing?" Zhang Xiu asked Gan Ning, pointing to the carriage racing below.
"good."
Gan Ning grinned, "This thing is used on the battlefield. Whether it is a trebuchet, soldiers, or food and grass, it can reach the battlefield at the speed of the cavalry, catching the enemy by surprise, and allowing the infantry to have strong mobility." .”
"In the future, Governor Gan can also cooperate with the cavalry in combat." Zhang Liao looked at the carriage with envy.
The most important thing about cavalry is speed. Now Gan Ning's infantry also had speed, which suddenly shortened the gap between them. However, the battlefield impact of cavalry was still incomparable to them.
"The biggest disadvantage of this thing is that it requires taking official roads. All official roads have been opened in our Jingdi area, but there are no official roads in the enemy's territory. Entering the enemy's hinterland, the infantry's mobility advantage is lost." Jia next to him. Xu Shen pointed out the problem in a pertinent and pertinent manner.
Zhang Xiu nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Can we communicate with Liu Zhang and say that in order to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, how about we build roads in Shu at our own expense?"
Jia Xu said: "It's difficult. Although Liu Zhang is weak, he has many capable ministers and counselors. He will definitely not agree with our intention easily. But they never expected that our army would have such a sharp weapon to transport soldiers. They can communicate first." Give it a try.”
"Who can be sent there?" Zhang Xiu looked at Li Ru.
Li Ru thought for a while and said: "The second scientific examination is over, and three talented people have been selected: Lu Xun, Yi Ji, and Qin Mi. Among these three, Lu Xun is quite strategic and is familiar with the art of war. He is a great talent. Yi Ji, Yi Ji, Qin Mi is eloquent and eloquent, so sending one of them to Yizhou can persuade Liu Zhang."
"Yi Ji, Qin Mi."
Zhang Xiu naturally knew these two people, but they were not very famous in later records. After thinking about it, he asked: "Who is more suitable?"
"Let Yi Ji go. This person has quick thinking and quick reactions. This can make this person go and have a greater chance of winning." Li Ru said.
"Okay, let Yi Ji go." Zhang Xiu nodded.
At this time, the carriage below stopped. The eight war horses were so tired that their nostrils were wide open and their breath was like a pillar.
Qian Song hurried up to the viewing platform, knelt down to Zhang Xiu and said, "Your Majesty, after testing, eight horses can pull thirty men in armor, and they can travel sixty miles a day, and their speed is not inferior to that of cavalry."
Gan Ning was overjoyed.
Zhang Xiu said with satisfaction: "Since the purpose of this car is to help soldiers gain speed, let's call it: Speed Car. Qian Song ordered you to build 500 speed cars within six months. Can you complete it?"
"able."
Qian Song nodded without hesitation.
In order to quickly develop weapons of war, Zhang Xiu allocated a large amount of money to the craftsman battalion. It can be said that he responded to every request and provided strong support. This was also the confidence of Qian Song, as well as the navy. Since Liu Bei took charge of the Jingzhou shepherd, Zhang Xiu has been in the navy We have also begun to invest heavily in its development.
Caizhou has been divided into Zhang Xiu's hands. Such a natural small island is a good place to station troops.
Zhang Xiu has stationed 60,000 troops here, 30,000 of which are new recruits, and the other 30,000 are soldiers who survived the last battle. They have transformed from recruits into veterans.
This time, Zhang Xiu did not hide the strength of the navy, but openly showed off his muscles.
The purpose is to let Liu Bei weigh whether his own strength can conquer Nanyang, so that he can retreat in the face of difficulties. Liu Biao is a lesson learned from the past.
Returning to the city, Zhang Xiu summoned Yi Ji and carefully asked him to go to Yizhou.
…
Xudu, in the palace of King Wei.
Cao Cao lay on the bed with a hot towel on his head and moaned, hissing sounds coming from his teeth all the time. He put one hand on his forehead and massaged it continuously.
Headaches have been a long-standing problem for Cao Cao, but every time they hurt, they were terrible.
"Your Majesty, there is news from Chang'an." Xun You stood by the bed, took off the towel for Cao Cao, soaked it in the hot water basin next to him, then wring out a lot of water, unfolded it, folded it, and put it on his forehead superior.
"Hi~! What's going on?"
Cao Cao closed his eyes, and there were waves of pain in his head, which made his nerves rise and fall suddenly, like a roller coaster in the future, with a big twist and turn suddenly occurring.
"There is news over there. A few days ago, Zhang Xiu led a group of confidants to the Qinling Mountains behind Lantian. I heard that there is a secret base there, which is heavily defended. Without Zhang Xiu's personal order, not even Jia Xu and the others can enter. , presumably, some weapons of war are being developed there." Xun You guessed.
Speaking of weapons of war, Cao Cao suddenly thought of his general Xu Huang.
During the Battle of Hangu Pass, Xu Huang was killed by Zhang Xiu's magical weapon, the Flower-Blade Armor-Piercing Crossbow. When he learned that Xu Huang had died, Cao Cao was extremely sad and personally kept vigil for him.
In addition to the Battle of Wancheng that year, and the subsequent attack on Xiangyang City.
Once these sharp weapons are released, the world will be shaken.
So when he heard that Zhang Xiu was working on another mysterious weapon, Cao Cao sat up and forgot about his headache for a short time, staring at Xun You: "Can you find out what they are developing?"
Xun You shook his head: "The defense there is too tight. No birds or beasts can enter within thirty miles. Unless there is Zhang Xiu's personal order, it is impossible to enter."
"Is there anything the secret agents in Chang'an can do?" Cao Cao's voice was lowered a lot.
Xun You shook his head: "It still takes time to get into the core. Zhang Xiu is not yet reused. Moreover, after the last assassination failed, Li Ru has become more vigilant. It is very difficult for us to communicate up and down the line."
Cao Cao felt that his head started to hurt again, and he couldn't help but hiss between his teeth.
