Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 217
In the middle of the winter month, Shi Congyun placed Fu Zhaoyuan by his side as his officer temporarily.

From his mouth, Shi Congyun learned for the first time that the woman in Wei Wangfu was his second sister, Fu Jinhuan.

Shi Congyun didn't pay much attention to this matter, his mind quickly fell on the matter of military expansion, and before he knew it, it was the end of the year, and there was not much time left for him.

At first, Shi Congyun thought it would be okay to call it the Second Artillery Corps, the Second Artillery Corps, Duo Lafeng, but when he thought about it carefully, he didn't even have a single artillery unit.

Immediately, his thoughts fell into a deadlock, and finally after thinking about it, he reported to a Shenhuodu.

So the firearms battalion's army expansion plan was fully determined. The firearms battalion was expanded from 500 people to the Shenhuodu with 2000 people.

There are four full battalions, mainly using firearms, and the recruitment of personnel is also in progress.

After the last Southern Expedition, many people were promoted. During the Battle of Sanjiangkou, many people saw the strength of the Firearms Battalion. Coupled with Shi Congyun's publicity and attention, it was not a problem to recruit a full number of people.

What Shi Congyun is worried about is the speed at which new rockets are manufactured.

At the end of winter, when the first batch of samples came out, Shi Congyun enthusiastically went with Feng Jisheng and others to experiment outside the city.

Accompanying him this time were Luqiu Zhongqing, Feng Jisheng, Wang Zhong, Shao Ji and others, as well as several officers from Shenhuodu.

The new style of rocket is completely different from the previous iron fire mine. It is cylindrical in shape, with a sharp cone in front and a fire wire in the rear. When used, it must be tied to the front end of the bed crossbow.

For this experiment, Shi Congyun asked soldiers from Shenhuo Capital to pull a three-bow crossbow from the camp.

Then someone used a thick rope to tie the rocket to the front end of the arm-thick crossbow bolt. As the soldier turned the winch, the huge crossbow arm was pulled apart with a creaking sound, and the thick arm was stuck on the slot at the back.

This kind of machine seems to be full of power. It consists of two positive and one negative three crossbow arms. After being pulled apart with a winch, the three bow arms work together to shoot out the huge crossbow arrows.

This thing is also called "eight oxen crossbow" in the army. The arrow uses hard wood as the arrow shaft and iron sheet as the feather. It is called "one gun and three swords arrow", because the arrow feathers are like three swords.

It was also commonly used in previous battles. Shi Congyun felt that the strength of eight oxen was exaggerated, but the strength of an ox should be there.

This bed crossbow can also fire special arrows called "Treading Arrows", which were used in the siege of Huainan. , The thick arrows can be directly inserted into the city wall in rows, and then the soldiers can climb to the top of the city by climbing on the arrows.

Especially in some small cities, this trick is more useful when there are wooden walls or buildings on the periphery.

But when facing a strong city like Shouzhou, there is no way. In short, the range and power of this bed crossbow are very impressive.

Generally experienced veterans use it. At a distance of 100 meters, the error is about five to more than ten meters, and the drop is also very severe.

The most important thing is that although it is powerful and can kill horses, it can kill a limited area. No matter how powerful it is, it is just such a crossbow arrow, which can easily shoot into the air, and even if it hits, it will still cause some damage.

If combined with gunpowder, its power should be even higher.

If a high parabola is used, the three-bow bed crossbow can shoot more than 500 meters. When the bow is opened, it must be shot towards the sky. The crossbow flies for a long time before landing, but that is entirely dependent on luck, which is a test of the soldier's experience and skills.

Shooting like this would not be done on the battlefield. Whoever dares to waste precious crossbow arrows like this will definitely be scolded to death by his superiors. If explosive gunpowder is added to the arrowhead, Shi Congyun suddenly felt that shooting like this might be a new tactic, because gunpowder It can turn the point damage of crossbow arrows into surface damage.

At that time, the accuracy is not enough, so it depends on the killing range and density.

The experimental field was arranged in a large open space by the Yellow River, half an hour away from the road, surrounded by trees, this area was originally designated for the army to camp, but after the defense was changed, they all went to the north of the city.

So this area is temporarily vacant, usually there are no people.

Shi Congyun was very excited. He rolled up his sleeves and placed a scarecrow simulating the target with the soldiers of Shenhuodu.

There are more than 30 scarecrows placed in the open space, covering a large area.

After working for a long time, the soldiers who prepared the three-bow bed crossbow were also ready.

At the other end, everyone was staring at Feng Jisheng and his two apprentices, watching them fasten the rocket to the thick crossbow head.

However, it was only the first step when there was a problem, and it was difficult to tie it tightly. Because of no practical experience, Feng Jisheng subconsciously made the main body of the rocket into a cylindrical shape. As a result, the shaft of the crossbow bolt was also cylindrical. In the end, I had no choice but to use a knife to trim two branches from the side and not go in before tying them tightly.

Shi Congyun also came over and checked carefully. This is not a joke. If it is not tied tightly, the huge force of the three-bow bed crossbow will instantly accelerate the crossbow, and it will be an accident if it is thrown off.

Just the matter of tying it tightly enough made several old men sweat profusely in the winter. Everyone talked a lot, thought of a lot of ways, and said a lot of opinions, and finally got almost one. The hour was finally fixed.

Shi Congyun couldn't help feeling: "Damn, it's easier said than done."

Afterwards, everyone finally put the tied rockets on the three-bow bed crossbow. The soldiers of Shenhuo Capital over there had already adjusted their positions so that the three-bow bed crossbow aimed at the scarecrow in front of them.

The straw man was a hundred steps away from the bed crossbow, which was already a very long distance.

Shi Congyun said: "Can you shoot it from such a distance?"

"Don't worry, Marshal, it's on someone!" The crossbowman of Shenhuo Capital was a veteran, patted his chest confidently and said.

Then he ignited the fire wire, and immediately fired the bed crossbow that had been aimed at. As the three arms of the bows, which were about as thick as an adult's arm, collapsed, there was a crash, and the huge crossbow arrows flew out instantly.

The sound of the tail iron scraping through the air was clearly audible, and everyone had retreated to the rear, staring closely at the scarecrow in the distant snow.

Soon there was a loud noise in the snow field in the distance, the snow splashed everywhere, and the white mist from the steam slowly rose into the sky with green smoke, and a large pit was blasted out in the snow field, exposing the black soil below.

Shi Congyun's face also darkened, and he cursed immediately, because the place where the explosion exploded was still 30 meters away from the scarecrow area, which is too fucking outrageous!

The scolded soldier of Shenhuo was full of grievances, and said in a low voice: "Commander, I came here as usual, if I usually hit it like this, now I tied something, and the thing is heavy, so of course it will miss."

Only then did Shi Congyun come to his senses, "What you said is also reasonable, you only said it after you scolded me, it can't be my fault.

Hurry up and prepare again, don't ignite the fire, you adjust it and then test. "

Everyone nodded, and then let the soldiers of Shenhuodu shoot without firing. After three calibrations, they finally figured out the flight trajectory of this new style of crossbow.

After that, for the fourth time, the crossbowmen of Shenhuo Capital vowed to ignite the fire.

Then the rocket ignited, and shortly after it was fired, it exploded in a large scarecrow a hundred paces away. The position was to the right, and everyone rushed over to watch.

The crossbow arrows did not hit the scarecrows, but were stuck in the open ground, and a hole was blown out in the ground. The two scarecrows that were close to each other were overturned, and one of them caught fire due to the high temperature. Several scarecrows were hit by iron plates a few steps away. .

There was not much damage on the periphery, but the farthest was that a scarecrow about ten steps away was also killed by the blasted iron sheet, and a large piece of straw in the middle was cut off.

Although it was not shocking in terms of the overall killing effect, everyone was exclaimed, especially those who often fight, Wang Zhong, Shao Ji and others.

Because the crossbow didn't hit anyone at all, but caused damage!
At least nine scarecrows were "injured" to varying degrees on the spot, and three of them were guaranteed to be "dead". In contrast, the "unlucky" was hit by iron sheets and there were holes everywhere.

This kind of large crossbow is powerful and has a considerable range, but it is normal to miss people on the battlefield. After all, no matter how powerful it is, it can only kill one point, and the deviation becomes very large after fifty steps.

But if all the arrows shot in the future are like today's arrows, there is no need to directly hit the enemy to kill the enemy!

So after everyone saw this thing, they all showed expressions like they saw a beautiful woman, and surrounded Feng Jisheng one after another, urging him to try a few more rounds to enjoy themselves.

The next test also made everyone exclaimed. The most powerful shot hit the middle of the straw crowd from a hundred steps away, and injured eighteen scarecrows at once!Reach the maximum record of the day's test.

Shi Congyun also has more and more confidence in this weapon. Although there are still many problems and restrictions, the progress is very gratifying.

Shi Congyun excitedly pulled Feng Jisheng up and asked how many rockets the gunpowder factory could produce by next March.

With the experience of the past year, Feng Jisheng assured him that he could produce about [-] tubes this time.

Shi Congyun was a little disappointed, [-] sticks were too little, it would be great if there were [-] sticks, but he also knew that was a daydream, so he could only encourage Feng Jisheng to work overtime, the more the better.

In Youzhou City, goose feathers and snow were flying heavily, and the cold wind was howling. The soldiers standing guard at the gate of the city were shivering shivering in sheepskin coats over armor, and there were hardly any people at the gate.

The city wall at the top of the city is wide. Since the Han Dynasty, Youzhou has been an important town in the north. In the Tang Dynasty, it was the seat of Lulong Town, one of the three towns in Heshuo.

Xiao Siwen was tall and straight, wearing a felt hat, wrapped in a thick fur coat, standing at the head of the broad city, overlooking the south, holding a cute little girl wrapped in a ball in his arms, with a flushed face and big eyes curiously looking into the distance.

In the distance, the mountains, rivers and woods are hidden in a vast expanse of whiteness, and nothing can be seen except the snow all over the sky.

In the distance were a few Khitan guards, and beside him stood a young man in his early twenties. He was tall and burly, wearing a bearskin coat in winter with one arm exposed. He didn't seem to know the cold, and his expression was rebellious.

More than [-] years ago, after Shi Jingtang ceded the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Daliao Kingdom, this place became Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom, and people of various ethnic groups lived here.

For the Liao Kingdom, there are two most important places, one is Shangjing, the capital city, and the other is here, Nanjing Youzhou, where the South Court of the Liao Kingdom's two-campus system is located.

As Xiao Siwen stayed behind in the southern capital, his identity was very important.

But in fact, the relationship between Liao Kingdom and Youzhou City is far more than that.

Back then the Khitan had very little influence and territory, and it was just a Jimi prefecture under the rule of the Tang Dynasty. There were eight Khitan tribes, and a chief was elected every three years to lead the various tribes. Easy to infight.

Their great ancestor, Yelu Abaoji, was very talented and admired the Central Plains Dynasty very much. He learned from the Central Plains everywhere and wanted to establish achievements like the Han and Tang Dynasties.

And he soon waited for an opportunity, the world was in chaos at the end of Tang Dynasty, Taizu took the opportunity to plunder south, but unlike others, he did not plunder property and food, but mainly people.

Taizu plundered tens of thousands of Han people, resettled them on the grasslands, gave them land to cultivate, and let them build houses and cities.At that time, the south was in great chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty. Many Han people were eager to avoid military disasters, so they were willing to settle down in the northern grasslands and just settled down.

Slowly, Taizu modeled Youzhou City and built a new city on the grassland, called Hancheng, where tens of thousands of Han people lived and managed the city.

Later, the leaders of the Khitan tribes were dissatisfied with Taizu's growing power, and continued to serve for nine years, asking him to abdicate. Taizu agreed, but he asked to live in Seoul and live with the people there. The leaders of the tribes agreed without knowing his plan.

After that, Taizu continued to grow in Seoul, and imitated the story of the Hongmen Banquet, designed to kill the leaders of the Khitan tribes to unify the Khitan, and established the current Liao Kingdom.

Shangjing, the capital of the Liao Kingdom, was largely modeled on Youzhou City, so the structures of the two cities are very similar. Xiao Siwen was surprised by this when he first came to Youzhou.

And Youzhou is the second capital city for the Liao Kingdom, so from the day when he was left behind in the southern capital, he thought in his heart to make a career and then return to the north. They had a chance a few years ago. The new monarch of Zhou Guo, a great country in the Central Plains, succeeded to the throne, and the court situation was unstable.

They joined forces with the Northern Han Dynasty to send troops. They originally had the opportunity to directly attack the Central Plains, but the Northern Han ruler was an idiot, and he was overwhelmed and could lead to a big defeat. Even Taiyuan was besieged by the Zhou army. Fortunately, the timely reinforcements did not let Taiyuan fall Into the hands of Zhou Guo.

In the past few years, it has been rumored that Zhou Guo has produced a remarkable figure, who has fought wars and won victories year after year. It is heard that Zhou Guo in the Central Plains has expanded a lot of land and population to the south.

This made Xiao Siwen a little restless, if Zhou Guo cleaned up the south, he would definitely come to Youzhou!
So he eagerly wants to do something to distract Zhou Guo, so that they can't grow like this, but he also has self-knowledge, knowing that he is not a person who can fight, so he has assembled an army of more than [-] people this year, and wants to go south To harass the state of Zhou, it would be better if some places could be conquered.

Unexpectedly, he was resisted by Zhou Jun again, and was almost blocked in the south.

"Han Yin, what do you think of Zhou's army fighting?" Xiao Siwen asked the young man beside him.

"I can't underestimate them, but I'm not afraid of them. This year they have a lot of people. If we are similar to them, the southerners will definitely not be our opponents." The young man said confidently.

Xiao Siwen nodded, "I can tell you that.

Your Majesty has been indifferent to state affairs for the past few years. We can only do our own thing. When the weather gets warmer next year, I want to take back the southern counties from the southerners. How will we respond if the Zhou army sends troops. "

The young man thought for a while, "Let them come to attack Youzhou, as long as our army stays in the north and doesn't go south, it doesn't matter how many they come."

Xiao Siwen was a little puzzled, the snow outside the city was getting bigger and bigger, and the large snowflakes were wrapped in the cold wind and began to float under the tile eaves of the city head, so he had to stop, "Let's go down, Yanyan is still young, and can't stand the cold."

(End of this chapter)