Kai Fu Han

Chapter 321 Large Slingshot
The fifteenth day of the first month, the Lantern Festival.

On this day of family reunion, Liu Xinang came back with a message:

The mine owners' alliance rebelled.

"Why are these people so stupid to do this kind of thing?" Zhou Yue said.

When the news came, Liu Xinqi was having dinner with Zhou Yue.

"They don't want to use the mantis as a chariot, but they want us to see their attitude." Liu Xinqi replied.

"What do you mean?" Zhou Yue was confused.

"This is similar to the meaning of 'If you want to get an official, kill and set fire and be recruited'. It's a pity that they chose the wrong target. Our Xinghan League is not a weak state of Zhao, so it is impossible to recruit them." Liu Xinqi replied, and then He said goodbye to Zhou Yue, put down his bowls and chopsticks, and left the cafeteria.

Walking on the road, I read the letterhead sent back by Liu Xinang again to make sure nothing was missed, and hurried back to the office.

He took up a pen and wrote an order with the idea of ​​"only punishing the first culprit, never asking for threats." After stamping his private seal, he asked the guard to send it to Liu Xinang as soon as possible.

……

At the foot of Wengding Mountain, five miles west of Fenghuangling.

Liu Xinang led the Fourth Field Regiment and part of the garrison from Laiyang and Ye County to surround Wengding.

"Why did this group of stupid thieves choose to gather together here? Didn't they clearly express that they wanted to be 'the turtle in the urn'?" Liu Xinang said.

"Although the top of this urn is not high, the terrain is relatively dangerous. There are only two very narrow mountain roads at the front and back, which are easier to climb up the mountain. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, there are camps on the mountain left by bandits who used to stay here. Compared with starting from scratch, Yes, the conditions here are considered the best." Liu Xinyuan replied.

He had stayed in Phoenix Ridge before and had a good understanding of the surrounding situation.

"Now this terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack is of little significance to our Xinghan Alliance army. As soon as the order from the alliance leader arrives, we will immediately go up the mountain and kill these stupid thieves without leaving a trace." Liu Xinang Said fiercely.

"Report! A message from the golden eagle has arrived."

"Send it over quickly." Liu Xinang took it quickly.

When I opened it, my face immediately dropped.

"What's wrong?" Liu Xinyuan asked.

"See for yourself." Liu Xinyang handed the letter to Liu Xinyuan and complained helplessly: "These bastards are taking advantage."

"Haha." Sun Li smiled, and then said: "I told you, the alliance leader will definitely not let you go on a killing spree. Looking at the alliance leader's attitude of wanting to take people back to Penglai for work, how could he let you take the mountains to the mountain? Their strong labor was slaughtered in vain.”

"I'm also talking about anger, these grandchildren are disturbing people's festival." Liu Xinqi replied.

After Xu Zhong received Liu Xinqi's order before, he immediately arranged for people to arrest several small mine owners who participated in the series, and asked them about the ins and outs of the series.When the mine owners knew what had happened, they immediately launched a hasty attack, resulting in a serious shortage of weapons, equipment and personnel.

The rebellious mine owners were blocked back into the mountains by the garrison troops of Ye County, Laiyang and Huang County in the west, south and east before they came out of the mountains.

Then Liu Xinang arrived with the fourth field regiment, and they were even more powerful against the rebellious mine owners. Within two days, all the rebels were blocked in their lair - Wengding.

"Accord to the plan." Liu Xinang ordered.

"Yes!" Deputy leader Liu Zhijie went down to deliver the order and give on-site command.

The garrison troops from Yexian and Laiyang still blocked the way out before and after Wengding, and the field regiment was responsible for attacking the mountain.

Following the main road to the east, the team marched towards the mountain. When they reached the first checkpoint, the anti-thief defenders on the checkpoint saw the formation of the field army and immediately abandoned their defense and retreated.

With more than 2000 people in the mountains, it really seems boundless.

The fourth field regiment easily passed the first level.

When they reached the second level, the anti-thief defenders above finally stabilized themselves and did not flee without a fight.

Liu Xinang saw from a distance that many archers were deployed on the checkpoint. Instead of letting the army attack rashly, he asked people to start deploying explosive pack throwers.

This thrower can generally be said to be a giant slingshot.The difference from the slingshot is that the slingshot uses the principle of leverage, while the thrower uses the elasticity of the wood of the giant slingshot body and the elasticity of the rope.

The thrower was of simple construction and was quickly set up a hundred paces from the checkpoint wall.The operator placed a small stone in the throwing frame. Two soldiers stepped forward and worked together to pull the throwing frame back. After taking aim, they shouted at the same time:

"One, two, loose!"

As the thrower frame returned to the right position and the rope contracted, the stone flew out and hit the wall of the village.

Since the two of them worked together, it was difficult to aim, and they did not hit the village gate at once.

"Change the explosive pack."

This time was different from the last time. What was placed in the frame was a large, tightly wrapped explosive bag.

The two soldiers pulled the explosive package back again, following the previous test shot, this time making some adjustments.

"ignition!"

The fuse on the explosive pack was ignited by the soldiers, and it began to burn "ch, chi, chi".

The commander looked at the burning progress of the fuse, estimated that it was almost done, and shouted:
"preparation!"

"One"

"two"

"put!"

The thrower frame returned to the right position again, the rope contracted, and the explosive package flew towards the checkpoint wall along the path of the stone.

Then a loud "Boom!" was heard.

Most of the village gate was blown away, and the small gatehouse above the gate was also blown down.

"This power is no less powerful than artillery." Liu Xin'ang praised.

"Hey, we call this big slingshot a human-powered artillery. For now, the power is indeed about the same, but it is much smaller than the shooting distance of the artillery. More than 100 steps is the limit. If it is replaced by a catapult, it should be farther, but the catapult The vehicle is too heavy and heavy, and it would be better to use a catapult than just use an artillery piece.”

This large slingshot was designed by Liu Xinqi. The reference target was a mortar. Because it could shoot a large parabola, it could be used to attack the enemy behind the bunker. Unexpectedly, it was used by Liu Xinang to attack the mountain.

Large slingshots are indeed easier to carry and transport than artillery, and are more suitable for use in mountains.

"They have withdrawn, do you want to pursue them?" Liu Zhimu came over and asked.

"No, we will fight steadily, and it will be more beneficial to gather them together." Liu Xinang replied.

"go ahead!"

The field army continued to advance steadily towards the large stockade on the mountain.

Finally, they stopped at a position two hundred steps in front of the stockade and began to line up.

The reason he stopped so far away was because Liu Xinang saw that there was a trebuchet on the wall of the bandit's stronghold.

"How to fight?" Liu Zhimu asked.

"Send someone to go around and take a look." Liu Xinyuan suggested.

"That makes sense." Liu Xin'ang immediately ordered the regiment's reconnaissance platoon to investigate.

After receiving the order, the scouts immediately went into the woods on both sides in batches and began to circle and explore.

After waiting for a long time, the reconnaissance platoon leader came over to report.

"Only the catapults can be seen on the front wall. There are people guarding the back wall, but no defense equipment is seen. There are no defenses on the walls on the other two sides. I don't know if there are rebels patrolling behind the wall."

"Is the road in the mountains easy to walk?" Liu Xinang asked.

(End of this chapter)