In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 291: Waiting for an opportunity to conquer Tongguan
This can already throw small ammunition. If you want to throw twenty kilograms of ammunition, you can increase the weight to three thousand kilograms.

Moreover, you can climb up the escalator on both sides of the trebuchet, and then throw each discus into or take out the counterweight box, and increase or decrease the counterweight at any time according to the range requirements.

At this time, someone came over and moved ten pounds of stones to the throwing place.

"Watch it." Following Zhao Yurui's voice.

Bang, as the heavy weight box fell to the ground.

Whoosh, the stone bullet flew out, drawing a wonderful arc in mid-air, and finally hit hard more than 300 steps away.

This should be the farthest trebuchet at this time, and everyone was shocked when they saw it.

Because it looks very impressive, and it’s just one. What if dozens, even hundreds, or thousands of them are launched at the same time?

At this time, Zhao Yurui asked for more weight, and the counterweight reached three thousand kilograms, in exchange for twenty kilograms of stone bullets.

Bang, this time the stone bullet flew less than 250 steps, about [-] steps.

"If you want to have a longer range, you can also increase the length of the lever arm or add a counterweight box." Zhao Yurui said at this time: "But now neither the Mongols nor the Jin people have cannons, so this distance is acceptable for the time being."

Liu Zheng grinned and said: "This thing is good to put on a warship. If the stone is bigger, it will be disabled if hit."

Zhao Yurui nodded and pointed to the side, where they were assembling again, this time the assembly was relatively small and medium-sized.

Among them, the medium-sized ones are placed at the top of the city and are used to defend the city. They can be thrown from 150 to [-] steps.

A small warship can throw fifty to eighty steps.

Liu Zheng and other generals saw that the warship was so small, almost the same as before. The stone bullets were probably too small and not powerful enough.

Zhao Yurui said nothing and smiled.

What he will throw in the future will not be stone bullets.

The stone bullets of a trebuchet generally need to weigh more than 150 kilograms to be powerful, and three to four hundred kilograms can destroy a city wall.

But it would take enough time to consume, and he felt that getting so many stones before the war would be a hassle.

Zhao Yurui will throw kerosene bombs and burn them directly.

But of course he didn't tell Zhu Wenwu this time.

"The trebuchets are all built in advance. If there is a war, they can be dismantled and transported. It takes about a quarter of an hour to assemble the counterweight before the war."

"The firing frequency is much higher than that of artillery. It can assist artillery in defending the city and even attacking in the wild."

This trebuchet can fire once in half a minute to a minute at most, and its efficiency is amazing. In this era, if used properly, it can even replace artillery.

Before Zhao Yurui ascended the throne, he had been doing business with businessmen from various countries, especially purchasing kerosene (oil) in the Dashi area of ​​Bochi.

The current Southern Song Dynasty should be the country with the largest storage of kerosene in the world.

Seeing the indifferent expressions of some generals at the scene, Zhao Yurui said formally: "News about our detailed operations in Mongolia has been transmitted."

"When Batu went back to hold a meeting in Khuliltai this time, he brought back trebuchets from the place where he marched to the west. The Mongols have already begun to use trebuchets."

"Their trebuchets mainly throw heavy stones weighing hundreds or even hundreds of kilograms."

"That thing is extremely destructive to the city wall. If the city wall is not strong enough, it can even collapse the city wall."

After hearing what the emperor said, many generals' expressions changed slightly.

Not all of the city walls in the Song Dynasty were impregnable. Many small towns were built of mud, not large pieces of bluestone, nor covered with bricks.

That kind of wall doesn't stand a chance of being beaten.

"If we don't build it, sooner or later the Mongols will build a full-scale trebuchet."

At present, the Mongolians' ability to attack fortresses is still a little weak, so they cannot even defeat Weizhou. After the trebuchets are fully used, the Mongolians' ability to attack fortresses will improve by leaps and bounds.

At this time, someone on the side flattered me and said, "It turns out that your Majesty has already had the foresight to renovate important towns across the country. Your Majesty is really a wise man."

But it was the general Li Pingbao.

There was a sound of agreement all around.

Li Pingbao cannot be said to be flattering. After Zhao and Rui came to power, they carried out major renovations in key cities across the country. For example, Xiangyang, which was conquered by Mongolia in history, was originally renovated after Meng Gong arrived.

Zhao Yurui has completed it more than ten years in advance. Jinghu and the cities controlled by the Song Army on the front line in Shandong, including Jinan, Linqing, Qingzhou and other places, are all being reinforced and repaired.

Not to mention Sichuan, Fengxiang and Sanguan Wuzhou and other first-tier city gates have been working for several years.

When Zhao Yurui heard Li Pingbao's words, he immediately rolled his eyes at him: "No matter what you do, you have to look at people."

"No matter how strong the city gate is, it will be completely useless without reliable military generals to garrison it."

Tongguan, which is now impregnable in the Jin Kingdom, has been breached several times in history.

Everyone echoed again.

On the way back from the craftsmanship bureau, Zhao and Rui saw Liu Zheng hesitate to speak several times and knew that he had something to say.

Liu Zheng had a strong desire to make great achievements, and he definitely didn't want to stay with Zhao Yurui as a bodyguard.

After leaving the craftsmanship station, Zhao Yurui said directly: "Get in the carriage."

Liu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed and hurriedly got into the emperor's carriage.

It was January, and it was still very cold in Lin'an, but it was very warm inside the carriage.

Sitting in the carriage, Liu Zheng looked serious, and he probably knew that the emperor had something to explain.

"Before Zhao Fang died, he said something to Zhao Kui." Zhao Yurui's first words made Liu Zheng's face change slightly, and he knew it was related to him without having to guess.He listened quietly without saying a word.

The emperor continued: "Liu Zheng is extremely talented, but you can't use him. It's better to kill him, and don't leave him as a trouble in the future."

Hiss, Liu Zheng took a breath, his face turned pale, and his body trembled slightly.

He didn't know what to say for a moment, and he didn't understand why his mentor Zhao Fang said that about him.

"But Zhao Kui thinks you are talented and loves talents so much that he doesn't want to kill you."

"The last general, the last general--" Liu Zheng was a little moved, his eyes were red, but he didn't know what to say.

"Zhao Kui took you with him for several years before he decided to recommend it to me."

"The general is so frightened that I owe you your Majesty's kindness." Liu Zheng immediately changed from kneeling to lying down.

"Get up, I don't have any favors for you now." Zhao Yurui said calmly: "I have been with you for almost a year. You are indeed very capable. You are proficient in all kinds of literature, Taoism and military strategy. I ask When I asked you about the navy, you went to learn about the navy in private. When I asked you about firearms, you went to inquire about learning firearms in private. You are very diligent and I can see it."

Liu Zheng blushed and looked ashamed.

"However, your biggest shortcoming is that you are a bit petty and easily suspicious."

Liu Zheng's face turned redder.

"The general will eventually realize his mistake." First admit your mistake before talking about it.

"No one is a saint, who can have no faults?" Zhao Yurui sighed: "Each of us has shortcomings, and I also have shortcomings."

"Your Majesty is an eternal wise king." Liu Zheng quickly flattered him.

Zhao Yurui sighed and said: "I don't have the final say, the Eternal Mingjun, let alone you. Future generations will have their own merits and demerits."

"But you must remember that rumors stop only with the wise. No matter what rumors there are in the future, you must know that I will definitely support you."

Zhao Yurui said this not only to him, but also to all the generals such as Meng Gong and Yu Jie.

Because he knew that this was the way to fight in ancient times. Usually if a famous general was too powerful to defeat, the enemy country would spread rumors to alienate the court and the leading general.

And now that communications are underdeveloped, he can only often remind the generals in various places that you should not listen to rumors. Only I will spread rumors to other countries, but if other countries spread rumors, you should not believe them.

Liu Zheng was still very moved and excited after hearing this. He realized that the emperor was going to send him out.

"You prepare in the capital and go to the Guanghua Army in early February."

Guanghua County is in front of Xiangyang. The Song Dynasty established the Guanghua Army, which was regarded as a barrier to Xiangyang.

After Zhao Yurui came to power, he built a lot of construction here. In just a few years, the number of troops stationed in Guanghua increased from thousands to one army (3000 people), two armies, and three armies. Now there are 9000 people stationed in Guanghua.

This location is quite good. It serves as a barrier to Xiangyang in time. When attacking, you can go to Henan and Shaanxi in the Kingdom of Jin.

"The Kingdom of Jin regards Tongguan Yellow River as a natural barrier, so it is considered impregnable for the time being."

"If Mongolia attacks Jin, Jin Tongguan elite soldiers will definitely go out to rescue, and we can wait for an opportunity to attack Tongguan."

"After you arrive, carefully explore the road to Wuguan and plan carefully how to defeat the pass. Once the court has an order, you must quickly capture Wuguan and advance to Tongguan."

"The general will obey the order." Liu Zheng was overjoyed. Such an important task was entrusted to him, which shows the emperor's trust in him.

Zhao Yurui gave some more instructions, saying that the leader of the Jinghu area was Wang Jian, and asked him to respect Wang Jian and unite his colleagues. He also said that the reason why the Song Dynasty lived in seclusion on the south bank was because the civil and military officials in the imperial court always liked to fight among themselves. This is the biggest problem of us Han people. You must not do this.

Liu Zheng and Lu Wende had been suspicious of each other historically. Later, they both surrendered to Mongolia, so there was no need to be suspicious.

Although Zhao Yurui did not know this period of history, the Han people were famous for their love of internal fighting, and Liu Zheng must be reminded.

After going to court the next day, Zhao Yurui summoned the Mongolian envoys Wang Lu and Tuochala.

When entering the Xuande Hall, the two were blocked again by the guards of the Imperial City Division.

Because Tochara also carries a knife.

Tochara refused to take the sword for a long time, saying it was a Mongolian tradition. Even when he met the Mongol Khan, he always wore a sword.

The guard asked him to stand outside the palace and wait. How could this be done? Tuochala wanted to come and see what the Emperor of the Song Dynasty looked like.

Wang Lao on the side quickly persuaded him, and he was willing to take off his sword along the steps.

The guard groped around on him for a while and found two small weapons.

This made Tuochala think that Zhao Yurui was timid.

After entering the palace, they saw two armored military attaches standing on the left and right behind Zhao and Rui. They both looked tall and mighty.

Wang Lu came forward with Tuochala, clasped his fists and said to pay homage to the Emperor of Song Dynasty.

"Bold." Niu Bao shouted immediately behind Zhao Yurui: "Kowtow to your majesty, and you won't kneel down."

Wang Lu turned his head and looked at Tuochala.

Tuochala snorted coldly, raised his head and looked into the air with a look of disdain.

Wang Lu immediately said: "I've been waiting for thousands of miles. Is this how the people of Song Dynasty treated the envoys?" At the same time, he looked at Zhao Yurui.

Niu Bao's eyes widened and he was about to say something else. He saw Zhao Yurui smiling with a somewhat flattering expression on his face. He quickly stretched out his hand and said: "Forget it, forget it. It's not easy for the Mongolian envoy to come from afar." , come, give me a seat."

Niu Bao just did it.

Immediately on the left, a eunuch moved out a chair.

Wang Lu and Tuochala were not polite and sat down on the spot. Only then did they look at Zhao and Rui.

(End of this chapter)