In the wooden house on the top of the mountain, Zhao Cheng is explaining the structure of a repeating crossbow to a group of craftsmen. In this era, it is not easy to train archers, and it is even more difficult to make good crossbows and arrow feathers. If you want to make a good arrow, It requires at least a dozen procedures and takes a long time.
If there are too few steps, the arrow feathers will be inaccurate.
But what Zhao Cheng wants is not accuracy.
Among the people under his command, not many are good at archery. Even if he wanted to train them temporarily, it would be too late. After all, he plans to seize Wucheng by force next spring.
He knew very well that the longer he stayed in the mountains and forests, the smaller his advantage would be. It seemed that the longer the time, the more he could accumulate strength, but in fact, as a soldier, if he stayed away from the battlefield for a long time, his military morale would also deteriorate. used.
He used the army to farm the fields, which was only for a temporary planting season. After planting for a few years, his elite soldiers would really degenerate into farmers. By then, although they would be a bit more brave than ordinary farmers, they would be In terms of combat effectiveness, it is probably not even one-third of what it is now.
Therefore, the dynasties throughout the ages have stationed troops at the border. Even if there is no enemy to attack, the wise commander will let his men and horses attack in rotation to avoid blunting the edge of the troops.
Moreover, even if he trained a team of archers, it would be impossible to make enough bows and arrows based on the abilities of his craftsmen.
Therefore, his plan is to produce a large number of repeating crossbows with no accuracy at all. As long as the number is sufficient, no matter how high the accuracy is, it must give way to probability.
In fact, if the conditions were not limited, he would have directly planned to use local methods to make muskets in the mountains.
There are many ores in the mountains, and it is not difficult to find the ores for making gunpowder. But the biggest problem is that even if he uses Taoism, unless he builds a very large furnace, otherwise the furnace is small and the temperature of the flame still cannot reach the standard. The steel made out of it cannot bear the explosive power of gunpowder at all and will only explode the chamber.
Therefore, Zhao Cheng planned to build a musketry unit after taking Wucheng and having sufficient conditions.
When the time comes, the elites will form a formation with their shields raised, the muzzles of their muskets pointed in all directions, and they will directly advance the battle line without considering the issue of accuracy.
At present, although muskets cannot be made yet, Zhao Cheng has begun to make purified gunpowder. He plans to make a batch of explosive packets to blow up the walls of Wucheng.
In this world, although Taoists made alchemy a long time ago and created something similar to gunpowder, which was also used on the battlefield, the gunpowder was not pure enough and its lethality was limited.
As for purifying gunpowder, it is not that no Taoist has thought of this, but the process is too dangerous, and Taoists are not indestructible. If there is any accident, their bodies will be blown up without leaving a trace. Therefore, after knowing the danger, there is no How many Taoists study this aspect.
However, it was precisely because gunpowder was refined that the Danlei line was opened up in the Taoist sect.
Originally, I wanted to use Taoism to induce thunder. If I were a human immortal, I could do it in a thunderstorm. If I was able to induce thunder in a dry day, I would have to be an immortal.
Taoists who are good at alchemy use various essences from the mountains, adhering to the virtue of guarding the earth, to condense the thunder in the earth and the thunder in the palm.
It's just that if this thunder method is most lethal, it will be extremely unstable, and it will explode in your sleeve if you are not careful. If it is most stable, it will have no lethality. If you want to kill people, it is better to use Taoism to bless your body. , gain the power of speed and power, one sword at a time.
Repeating crossbows, gunpowder, chemical fertilizers, Taoist officials, recruiting soldiers, taking strongholds...
There are countless things that Zhao Cheng has to do now, and many things require him to do everything himself.
As for this repeating crossbow, if he didn't explain some of it himself, his carpenters would be able to make mistakes just by following the drawings.
However, each of these things is increasing his power from both a tangible and intangible level.
Zhao Cheng expected that Wu Qi might have heard the news that he had deliberately let go and wanted to capture Wucheng next year.
Thinking about the other party, I would still sneer now. He is a mere defeated soldier, and I am afraid that even the walls of Wucheng will be difficult to get close to.
When the time comes, let the other party see what it means that the strength of Wucheng is not as strong as the thunder and fire of heaven and earth.
Of course, refining high-purity gunpowder with local methods is indeed dangerous. If it weren't for his exquisite Taoist skills, he has already understood Huang Tian's reinvention, and he has chemical knowledge from "modern times". The combination of the two can guarantee that he will not be killed. Own.
When the industrial level is not high, "alchemy" is indeed a dangerous job.
"General, this wood has not been processed with mud and water. Even if it is carbonized with flames, it is still not durable. Especially the delicate objects in it. I am afraid that if it is fired at most three to five times, problems will occur. If it is replaced by iron, iron is too brittle. , it is not easy to bake..."
Li Shan, the carpenter next to Zhao Cheng, pointed to the charcoal drawings on the wooden board and said.
He is not illiterate, but Zhao Cheng has already considered this. The entire drawing only has patterns, and then there are the dimensions marked with horizontal lines. One horizontal line is one foot, two horizontal lines are two feet, half a horizontal line is half a foot, and three points One horizontal line is one third of a foot.
Now half a month has passed since the Jixian Order was issued. Li Shan's carpentry skills are actually not good, but in this mountain, he is considered a tall man among the short ones, and Zhao Cheng is a meritocracy. , so among the carpenters, the other party can already speak.
And after so long, Li Shan's thoughts changed again.
From the initial anxiety, to the shock when seeing the "Roshan", to now, having had close contact with the general for a period of time because of making repeated crossbows, let's look at the military management and laws of Ying Tianjun. .
Although he had never read a book, he still instinctively felt that the other person was working outside the mountains when he was young. In his spare time, he would hide in the corner near the teahouse and listen to the drama in the teahouse.
He vaguely remembered that the content of the play seemed to be that the Taizu of Da Cang was seen by the court's senior official. The senior official deliberately said in front of many people that at first glance, this son did not look like a human minister. , but rather like a human master.
As a result, Taizu Da Cang encountered many disasters, and in the end he almost died outside.
But then, the words of the former doctor hit the mark. Later in the play, Da Cang's Taizu led troops into the capital, captured the former doctor, and asked him, do you think How strong are my soldiers and horses? !
After that, he first killed the nine tribes, and finally killed the senior official and skinned him and stuffed him into grass.
Now Li Shan's idea is that this general does seem to be a master. At such an age, he has such means and magnanimity. Could it be that there is really a gift from heaven in this world? !
Huang Tian obeyed the order and the world returned to Zhao. He originally didn't believe it, but now, he somewhat believes it.
Of course, he himself is already old. At this age, everything is almost rubbish, but his son is still young, so he wants to pave the way for his son.
While speaking, he glanced at his somewhat dull son who was a little further away, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
