"oh?"
General Han Fuyue looked at the drawings handed over by Li Hongyun through the dim light in the camp.
"This is... a trebuchet?"
General Han Fuyue vaguely recognized the objects on the drawing, but there was not much joy in his words.
Because the trebuchet was not a particularly rare item in this era.
As early as the Liang Dynasty, large-scale trebuchets appeared. It required 150 to 250 people to pull the rope and fired stones weighing about 70 to 100 kilograms with a range of 70 to 80 meters.
In daily siege battles, trebuchets are also quite commonly used siege equipment.
For example, during the Jingping Incident, in order to conquer the capital of the Qi Dynasty, the Jin people sent craftsmen to build hundreds of large trebuchets outside the capital before the official siege, and stormed the walls of the capital.
However, the effectiveness of this kind of trebuchet on the battlefield is not necessarily very useful.
It has at least three shortcomings: first, it has a short range, second, it has insufficient destructive power, and third, it requires a lot of manpower and is very time-consuming.
Because most of the trebuchets in this era were manual trebuchets, not counterweight trebuchets.
Throwing stones requires a large number of gunners to drag the riprap.
This kind of trebuchet also uses the principle of leverage. The long section is used to place stones in the net bag, while the short end is tied with dozens of riprap ropes.
When in use, everyone needs to drag the sling together to throw the stones in the net bag.
Obviously, this usage has relatively high requirements on the soldiers who operate it.
Dozens or even as many as one or two hundred soldiers must move in a uniform manner. No one can fish or paddle, and their movements must be coordinated with each other. Moreover, the power that manpower can erupt in an instant is relatively limited, so the stones thrown by such a trebuchet will be somewhat insufficient in terms of strength and range.
When General Han Fuyue was preparing to attack Yanjing City, he naturally prepared such human-powered trebuchets.
Therefore, when he saw the drawings of these Ministry of Industry officials, his first reaction was not very surprised.
Li Hongyun smiled slightly and reminded: "General Han, take a closer look at the size of this trebuchet."
General Han Fuyue took a closer look and took a breath of cold air.
Because it is clearly written on the drawing that the size of this trebuchet, whether it is the floor space of the base or the length of the top lever, is several times that of an ordinary large trebuchet!
Take the largest trebuchet of the Liang Dynasty so far. It fires stones weighing about 70 to 100 kilograms, and its range reaches 70 or 80 meters.
However, the trebuchet on the drawing shoots boulders weighing 300 kilograms, and its range reaches 250 steps, which is nearly 400 meters!
The weight is three times that of the original trebuchet, and the range is more than four times.
More importantly, the drawing does not show a sling that requires a large number of soldiers to operate, but a huge weight box. After loading a large number of stones into the counterweight, the pulley structure can be used to pull down the shell section before ejecting the stones, allowing the counterweight end to rise to store energy, and then use the gravity of the counterweight end to eject the stones.
Compared with dozens of people pulling slings together to throw stones, this mechanical structure is obviously more sophisticated.
General Han Fuyue couldn't help but his eyes lit up: "Good stuff!"
He could see that this trebuchet was obviously more than a little improved compared to the original trebuchet.
I just can't help but have some doubts. Logically speaking, this structure is not particularly complicated. Why has no one studied it before?
Why has no one thought of using a counterweighted trebuchet to replace a human-powered trebuchet in the hundreds of years since the trebuchet appeared?
But no matter what, the appearance of such a powerful weapon on the battlefield at this time is equivalent to adding many variables to Yanjing City, which has been unable to attack for a long time.
General Han Fuyue immediately made the decision: "Okay, send an order immediately to build this new type of trebuchet!"
…
On the battlefield outside Yanjing City, the Qi army was busy.
A large number of soldiers began to transport the giant trees harvested and transported from the rear, and then laid them more than 200 meters away from Yanjing City according to the drawings.
First, the bottom layer of sleepers is laid in the compacted earth, and then various structures are built layer by layer on top. A super giant trebuchet is gradually formed in this way.
The soldiers who were either busy or resting around them all looked at this behemoth with some curiosity.
"This trebuchet is too big! With a range of more than a hundred steps, can it really be thrown onto the city wall?"
"The largest trebuchet before could not do it."
"The moats and trenches outside Yanjing City were dug by the Jin people to a distance of nearly seventy or eighty steps. Ordinary trebuchets can no longer throw such a distance. This trebuchet is actually more than a hundred steps away..."
"Looking at this piece of equipment, it's much larger than the average trebuchet. It should be able to throw it, right?"
"But how many soldiers must pull the sling to control such a huge beast?"
The soldiers were obviously a little unsure whether this new trebuchet could exert its due power.
At this time, the trebuchet had not yet shown its full appearance, so many soldiers thought it was still a traditional human-powered trebuchet.
"First Evolution"
The reason why the human-powered trebuchet has developed to 100 kilograms and has a range of 70 or 80 meters has stagnated because it has basically reached its limit.
Dozens of people are required to pull the sling to use it, which in itself has reached a certain threshold. If one hundred or two hundred people pull the riprap together, since the personnel have a certain area to occupy, and the more people there are, the more difficult it is to manage them, so the difficulty of use will increase significantly if the number of people increases, and the gain outweighs the loss.
Many of the soldiers in the Qi army had used traditional man-made trebuchets, and of course they knew this very well, so they were naturally skeptical of this newly built behemoth.
But soon, they realized they were wrong.
Because the shape of this new trebuchet is completely different from the original trebuchets!
One end of it is a huge weight box filled with heavy stones; and one end of the long swing arm is connected with a rope and a pulley device below.
As long as a dozen soldiers work together to pull the lever, the long swing arm can be lowered through the pulley device, and then other soldiers work together to roll the boulder weighing three hundred kilograms into the net bag.
"put!"
After giving an order, a soldier used a small hammer to slam the lock pin connecting the lever and the swing arm. Then the weight box hanging in the air fell heavily, and the boulder weighing three hundred kilograms naturally flew directly with the help of the powerful lever principle. Into the air!
This huge boulder drew a perfect parabola in the air, and then fell into Yanjing City.
"boom!!"
There was a loud noise, and these soldiers could even feel the ground beneath their feet rumbling and shaking.
You can see that this huge boulder has crossed the city wall and directly smashed the buildings behind the city wall into pieces. Without losing its force, it rolled and bounced on the ground for a long distance.
And from the high watchtower, you can see it more clearly.
The boulder flew into the city, not only destroying all the buildings along the way, but even smashed into the ground several feet before stopping.
The city defense of Yanjing City is already solid. The width of the moat and trench outside the city reaches more than 100 meters, which is completely beyond the range of ordinary trebuchets.
For the attacking side, if they cannot cover the opponent's city wall with trebuchets, their own soldiers can only forcefully cross the trenches and moats to board the city. In this process, the defender's various equipment will cause significant damage to the attacker.
The soldiers could not even reach the bottom of the city, and they had already suffered heavy losses.
But after having this giant trebuchet, the soldiers did not need to forcefully attack the city at all. They only needed to constantly carry huge rocks and throw them into the city.
General Han Fuyue looked at Yanjing City from a distance and couldn't help but feel happy: "It seems that in more than a month, this city is expected to be conquered!"
However, players such as Li Hongyun and Cui Huowang felt a little disappointed after seeing the power of this trebuchet.
"The legendary Hui Hui Cannon, is this it?"
The blueprint they took out was the return cannon used by the Northern Barbarians when they conquered Xiangyang City.
In ancient times, "cannon" was next to the word "stone", which actually means trebuchet. The reason why the "cannon" in chess requires a cannon stand to play is because the trebuchet actually uses the principle of leverage and requires a stand to be used.
At that time, Xiangyang City resisted the Northern Barbarians as an isolated city for six years. In the end, it was only because of the emergence of Huihui artillery that it was finally conquered.
In fact, the detailed drawings of the return gun have been lost, but the structure of this counterweight trebuchet itself is not complicated. Through various remaining drawings, these players who have obtained the status of "god machine" are enough to make it Recover.
But the restored effect is not very satisfactory.
It's just a trebuchet after all.
In fact, although Huihui Artillery conquered Xiangyang back then, although it was a great boast, it was actually just the straw that broke the camel's back.
Although the boulders thrown by the returning cannon were very powerful and destructive in this era, their accuracy was worrisome. Even after professionals adjusted the range and shooting angle, the hit rate was only about one-fifth.
Although the siege crews can calmly and continuously project huge stones on a certain section of the city wall or inside the city from outside the city, the transportation of the stones themselves is also troublesome. It will still take a lot of time to truly capture a strong city. .
If Yanjing City at this time was guarded by the indigenous people in this historical slice, it probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
Because a powerful weapon like the Huihui Cannon appeared on the battlefield for the first time, it brought not only a powerful siege capability, but also a strong psychological shock.
The defenders were demoralized and frightened by the boulders thrown in by the Huihui artillery. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the city was captured.
However, the golden soldiers affected by the demonic energy do not have the problem of morale collapse, and they will still resist tenaciously.
In this case, if you want to use Hui Hui cannon to break through the city, the time required will increase exponentially.
General Han Fuyue said: "In any case, this new type of trebuchet has greatly advanced the time for us to conquer Yanjing City!
"As long as we build a few more cannons like this and attack several walls of Yanjing City at the same time, we can always create a gap."
Li Hongyun shook his head slightly: "No need, General Han, we have something better to use."
General Han Fuyue was even more surprised: "A better one?"
With his level of knowledge, he really couldn't think of any more useful siege equipment than this giant trebuchet.
Li Hongyun and other players left the battlefield and returned to their camps to be busy for a while.
Then, several heavy cannons dragged by mules and horses arrived on the battlefield.
"This is?"
General Han Fuyue looked at this huge thing made of copper with some curiosity. He roughly estimated that it weighed several thousand kilograms.
Li Hongyun and other players directed the soldiers to place the cannon, clean the cannon bore, and load gunpowder and shells in a specific order.
"This is a new type of artillery that can replace the trebuchet!"
General Han Fuyue looked at the cannon in front of him seriously, wondering how it could replace the trebuchet.
After all, he has already seen the powerful power of the Huihui Cannon.
Judging from the size, the Huihui Cannon is more than ten meters high, and people below it feel like they are looking up at a huge monster. Pulling the lever and lowering the swing arm require the joint efforts of many soldiers. With so many stones in the counterweight box, its weight can be easily estimated.
Therefore, people in this era can more easily imagine the terrifying power of the backfire.
But the artillery in front of me is hard to say.
It looks like it is made of copper, and its size is amazing, but how can such a copper lump be turned into a siege weapon? This is indeed a test of imagination for people at this time.
"Prepare to fire!"
At the command, Li Hongyun held a torch and lit the cannon's fuse himself.
After the "bah, bah, bah" sound of the fuse burning, Li Hongyun quickly ran to a safe area and kindly reminded General Han Fuyue to block his ears.
General Han Fuyue followed the instructions with some confusion, and then heard a loud noise that shook the earth!
"boom!!"
The sound this time was far more terrifying than the sound of the huge boulder falling into the city of Yanjing!
I saw that under the explosion of gunpowder, the cannon weighing several thousand kilograms was buried in the ground, and the seemingly heavy cannonball that was originally stuffed into the muzzle flew towards the wall of Yanjing City!
The Huihui Cannon is already the pinnacle of trebuchets in the cold weapon era.
But it pales in comparison to the cannon.
The trajectory of stones thrown by a trebuchet is a parabola. When a stone rises, it must first convert kinetic energy into potential energy, and then convert potential energy into kinetic energy.
In this process, the huge rocks also face the loss of air resistance. The farther the range, the greater the kinetic energy lost.
Therefore, the return gun can hit a few hundred meters, which is already the limit.
It is the most powerful weapon created by humans using physical properties under cold weapon conditions.
However, artillery converts the energy generated by the explosion of gunpowder directly into the kinetic energy of the shell, which not only has a high burning rate, but also produces a large amount of high-pressure gas. The flight trajectory of the artillery shell is approximately a straight line, so it can not only avoid the losses caused by the parabolic trajectory, but also greatly increase the range.
Therefore, the reason why a killer weapon like the Huihui Cannon did not appear again was not entirely because its technology was lost. The more important reason is that compared with artillery, it is completely destroyed in all aspects and is no longer suitable for the new battlefield.
After a loud noise, all the Qi troops were shocked to the point where their ears were ringing and their eyesight even went dark.
Then, they all looked in the direction of Yanjing City.
I saw the heavy cannonball roaring and hitting the wall of Yanjing City.
Then, a huge gap was directly smashed into the city wall!
