Lord of the Desert

Chapter 358 Earthen Platform
This was the third time Hong Fan met the White Thunder God.

A year and a half ago, he and a group of high-ranking officials from Jinhai City dug out exactly the same thing in the tunnel under the city - it was square on all four sides, and the hardwood shell was carved with square and spiral lightning patterns that looked like fingerprints.

Hong Fan opened his arms and grabbed one of the items, then lifted it up and tried to lift it.

The mass is about 300 kilograms.

"Although the tunnels of Longxushi are sophisticated, they are also very noisy, and it is unlikely to be effective. Li Xiqi is a famous general of the Tianfeng Army, and he is not comparable to the giant spirit of the Northern Frontier."

Qiu Yuankui said.

"Yun Tao and I asked him to go on this trip just to provide cover for you and to be your backup."

When the great Lord Baisheng said this, he couldn't help but glance outside, fearing that Longxushi would hear it.

"You are digging alone. The most important thing is to stay hidden. There is no need to rush. Just deliver all these five things to the city."

"In addition, the burial location must pass the center line of the city wall, otherwise it will not collapse completely..."

Qiu Yuankui made detailed arrangements, but Hong Fan was still worried.

He didn't know much about the various explosives in his previous life, but he at least had a basic understanding of their parameters.

Taking modern black powder and TNT with the best formula as examples, the explosion overpressure of the former is half of that of the latter, and the diameter ratio of the compressed area of ​​the soil pit during ground explosion is 40%.

Assuming that the White Thunder God, with a total weight of 1.5 tons, is filled entirely with TNT, its power is at most equivalent to three tons of high-quality black gunpowder - blowing up a small building is easy, but to blow down a rammed earth and brick wall that is 15 meters high, 10 meters thick, and large enough for a carriage to pass through, is simply a pipe dream.

"Mr. Baisheng, the rammed earth of the Duanli city wall is so strong that even an iron spike cannot penetrate it. Will it be possible to rely on it alone..."

Hong Fan asked hesitantly.

"no need to worry!"

Qiu Yuankui returned immediately.

"To make the White Thunder God, a large amount of top-grade chalcedony is used, and multiple types of fire essence are stored in it. It is said that the power of each one is equivalent to a blow from a celestial warrior."

"'Over there' told me that with these five towers, any other city wall would be no problem."

Hong Fan no longer questioned.

The struggle in Huaiyang State can be interpreted in many ways at the micro level, but there is only one at the macro level - the struggle between the imperial court and the princes for ruling power.

Therefore, the "over there" that the other party was referring to might be the Shenjing Instruments Manufacturing Supervisory Bureau.

After explaining everything, Qiu Yuankui left the iron lock and key and left quickly.

The wooden door opened and closed again, and the construction sounds from the tunnel on the other side seemed to float up and down on the water.

Only the crackling sound of the burning wick remains clear.

[So there is already explosives in this world that are comparable to the Heavenly Strike, and their power is even far greater than that of RDX...]

Hong Fan was lost in thought.

[Unfortunately, it still cannot be separated from the true essence. 】

He stared silently at the lightning patterns on the wooden box for a moment, took two steps forward, and pressed his hands on the soil.

The destiny star is activated.

With Hongfan as the center, the sand gradually loosened and fell off silently.

······
Five days later, September 17th.

The dawn caressed the earth, awakening the city of Duanli.

From west to east, the brilliance of the morning sun was locked by the scaly clouds like an iron curtain, only burning the latter's corners dark red.

The world is filled with the spirit of conquest.

At 6 a.m., Baishengjun started cooking.

When the smoke from the camp cleared, the auxiliary soldiers who had been working all night retreated like a tide, leaving behind two earthen platforms that were 20 meters high, with wide and flat tops and baffles.

The sound of drums and shouts rose up like a boiling pot, and the archers took up their positions.

Arrows and curses flew back and forth between the flying tower and the earthen platform.

The artillery vehicles followed closely behind, and as usual, they suppressed the attack for half an hour and cleared the two sections of the city that were chosen as targets.

At 2:30 am (7:30 a.m.), the horn sounded and the people on the platform stood up.

The chariots and ladders led the way, followed by the infantry in full armor.

Following the military flag as a command, the Victorious Army fired three waves of dense arrows and stone bullets as firepower to block the attack.

Taking advantage of the temporary silence on the city wall, the car crashed heavily into the city wall, knocking down the wooden bridge.

The brave warriors in heavy armor rushed towards the top of the city like a stream of water, and on both sides were infantrymen holding short swords and climbing up the city.

The same approach, but the effect is much better than before.

The difference comes from the soil platform.

Although its absolute height was not as high as that of the flying towers on the city walls, the earthen platform provided valuable firepower suppression for the position, greatly offsetting the advantage of the defenders.

The fighting on the city walls continued, while construction work continued below the city walls.

The Five White Thunder Gods were in position. Hong Fan reported to the general's platform and then watched the battle silently.

The battle was now intense, and the top fighters on both sides finally died.

Qiu Yuankui, wearing triple armor, opened up a battlefield in the third section of the city. He used the powerful strength and high-speed recovery of his Pure Yang Kung Fu to climb to the top of the city wall and charge in all directions.

From high up in the corner tower, Li Xiqi's wind slash frequently collided with him, releasing magnificent thunder.

On the other side, the duel between Gu Yixin and Tang Shengwang was light and erratic, with speed against speed, and the sound of size was only revealed when the tip of the spear and the star shuttle intersected.

From Xu Yuntao onwards, the spectators on the stage found it very difficult to watch.

Hong Fan had always been proud of his speed - it only took him half a second to jump five meters from a standstill - but Cheng Shang Gu Yixin's speed was three times faster than his, leaving a series of drifting afterimages on his retina.

Vajrabodhi is even more sharp.

Wherever the spear blade passed, it was as light as a wolf-hair brush. Everything that was circled - whether it was a large shield, a wooden curtain, a wooden beam, or a hanging lever - was broken in two without a sound. Even Tang Shengwang's Meteor Shuttle was gradually filled with cracks.

Both of the Baisheng Army's innate masters were in the state of perfect six harmonies, and had a considerable advantage in cultivation; however, after fighting for a while, they fell into a disadvantage one after another.

This is because under the heavens and men, the few cannot defeat the many.

Hong Fan thought of the Red Robe Cavalry's Honglu Formation - the Tianfeng Army and the Duanli Tang family have been passed down for a long time, and they practice the same martial arts, so there is no shortage of similar joint attack methods. At 9 o'clock, Qiu Yuankui was blown out of the city by the strong wind for the third time, and most of his outer layer of armor was shattered.

Seeing this, Xu Yuntao ordered the horn to be sounded.

······
The raid was fierce and short.

Tang Shengwang took off his helmet and calculated how many Star Shuttles he had destroyed and inflicted several wounds on Gu Yixin.

The result of the calculation made him feel depressed. It was not until he poured oil on himself and lit a temporary car under the sporadic stones thrown at him that he could breathe smoothly and return to the city wall.

In the hall, Li Xiqi sat with his hands on his knees, and gave orders with his usual cold and stern expression.

The two captains who had just assisted him in the battle leaned against the wall, their faces as pale as gold paper, and their eyes closed to rest.

Tang Shengwang was holding an iron helmet and pacing outside waiting.

The two have been working together for several years and have seen this scene countless times.

He did not enter until all the messengers had received their orders and left. He saw that Li Xiqi's lips were chapped and his hair under his helmet was soaked into clumps by sweat.

"As the city gets older, the pressure on the city walls has nearly doubled."

Tang Shengwang half complained and walked towards the water tank in the corner.

"When Gu Yixin first went out, he almost lost the trail..."

Picking up the palm-sized ceramic bowl on the table, he was about to scoop some water, but was stunned and put the bowl back.

"Can't throw it away."

Li Xiqi spoke decisively and heard the sound of water behind him.

"The three mixed reserve teams of warriors have not yet been deployed..."

As he was speaking seriously, he felt thirsty and saw something like an iron pot stuffed in front of him.

The outside of the pot was half wet and half dry, and it contained several kilograms of water, with a lot of dust inside and outside.

But it is a black iron helmet.

Li Xiqi frowned and looked at Tang Shengwang.

"Drink water."

The latter uttered two words.

“There are bowls on the table!”

Li Xiqi's voice rose an octave.

"How many times do I have to go back and forth to use that small bowl?"

Tang Shengwang sneered and slammed his iron helmet against his heartguard, making a dull thud.

After a moment's confrontation, Li Xiqi had no choice but to take the helmet and reluctantly put it to his mouth.

He originally just wanted to show his appreciation, but after his lips were wet, the more he drank, the thirstier he became, and he drank up the last helmet of water.

Tang Shengwang also went to drink water as a witness.

He himself used the bowl.

"Just now, the exchange ratio was one to two."

Li Xiqi wiped his beard, leaned back in his chair, and spoke fluently.

"But it will be far from easy for the enemy to capture this city."

"The wood and stone materials stored by the Baisheng Army can only last for three or four days at most. After that, it will be extremely difficult to replenish the artillery and stone vehicles."

"As I said yesterday, as long as there are no problems elsewhere, we can at least hold out until winter..."

Tang Shengwang sat back at the table without saying anything.

He knew that the "elsewhere" the other party mentioned had a specific meaning - the outcome of Yuanci, the will of the royal court - but those were not things he could control.

The two were silent for a while, and then a messenger ran in and reported that the enemy tunnel was approaching the base of the city wall.

Tang Shengwang didn't know about this. He was surprised when he heard it and hurried to see Li Xiqi.

The latter's face was as calm as a lake.

"I haven't seen Chisha in the past few days. I guessed that he was digging a hole."

Li Xiqi waved away the messenger with a relaxed voice.

"You don't know military affairs, and you don't know that trenches and tunnels have been complementary strategies since ancient times."

When Tang Shengwang heard the words "know nothing about military affairs", his brows immediately furrowed.

But before he could open his mouth, Li Xiqi continued to talk.

"Because earth doesn't appear or disappear out of thin air, if it's piled on the ground, it means it's been dug underground, and vice versa."

"The key to the success of the tunnel lies in concealment, but the tunnel cannot be dug outside the city wall, so the best entrance and exit is behind the earth platform - it not only conceals the vision, but also handles the earthwork - not to mention that there is a life star sand world in the enemy camp."

"But Xu Yuntao didn't know that I had already buried twenty underground jars under the four sides of Duanli City, monitoring day and night, not missing any movement underground."

"As long as we dig in the opposite direction, we will be able to intercept them tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

He slowly stood up, adjusted his helmet properly amid the rustling sound of his armor, and walked out of the city wall.

Tang Shengwang followed behind him.

The guards bowed their heads in salute.

The sun climbs to a high place and shines everywhere.

People come and go on the two earthen platforms outside the railings, which grow slowly together with the flying tower on the opposite side.

Li Xiqi looked around with a disdainful gaze until he saw a burly man whom he had not seen for a long time standing on the general's platform and looking to the south.

The expressions of both of them suddenly turned cold.

PS: For the comparison data between black powder and TNT, please refer to the CNKI paper "Experimental Analysis of TNT Equivalent Value of Black Powder".

(End of this chapter)