Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 131: A Pommel Horse Like Floating Clouds (4)

The stones on both sides of the mountain road were blackened by fire oil.The gunpowder mixed with sulfur gave off a choking smell, and both Zhao Xingde and Du Chuijiao beside him were choked to tears.The smoke mainly goes upwards, and it is conceivable that the Hassan believers above the mountain road are more uncomfortable. "He's 'grandmother'," Ten Commander Jian Cheng covered his mouth and nose with a sweat towel soaked in water, and still cursed angrily, "Let me chop up these bastards."

The followers of the Hassan faction defended the narrow mountain path with a strong crossbow made of steel. Just now, taking advantage of the smoky fire that made the Hassan believers unable to defend, Wang Tongdeng led his team with their mouths and noses strangled. The silk cloth soaked in water was touching the mountain wall towards the pass, but before approaching, a burst of crossbow arrows was shot from a high place, and the iron crossbow arrows made of pure iron fell on the cliffs and mountain roads. There was a clanging sound, and sand and soil were splashed in all directions. Fortunately, the sergeant dodged quickly, and only one sergeant was shot in the arm.

When the sergeant was dragged down, his complexion was already pale, and the iron crossbow was stuck in the seam of his armor and had not been pulled out yet. "Take off your armour!" shouted Huang Zongdao, the Sima of the Marching Army. He was skilled in medicine and also a doctor.The sergeant who was shot was named Chun Yushang. Seeing Huang Zongdao's tense face, he smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Huang Sima, it doesn't hurt much." After the iron armor was untied, Huang Zongdao didn't dare to shoot the arrow casually, so he cut a hole in his sleeve with a pocket knife, his expression changed suddenly.

I saw that the area around the wound was red and swollen, and there were small bumps scattered around it. "The arrowhead is very poisonous." Huang Zongdao was startled, and quickly tied Chunyushang's wound tightly with cooked cowhide straps, raised his head and said to him in a deep voice: "Chunyu, this arrow is very poisonous, I will Now we can only dig out the surrounding flesh and crossbow bolts, you have to hold on."

Chun Yushang's expression also changed, he forced a smile and said: "Huang Sima just do it, snort, Chun Yushang is not a man from Kansai."

Huang Zongdao didn't have time to talk to him, so he waved his hands and asked two soldiers to hold Chunyu Shang down.He roasted the knife on the nearby fire for a while, then pierced the top of the wound, cutting deeply into the flesh, and blood flowed profusely immediately.Chunyu Shang trembled all over, his face paled a lot in an instant, he still clenched his teeth forcibly, his body froze and motionless.Huang Zongdao pulled out the arrowhead and a large piece of red, swollen and blackened flesh, washed Chun Yushang's wound several times with his hands without stopping, and then wrapped the wound with medical cotton and gauze. He just took a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and was about to say a few words of comfort to Chunyu Shang, but seeing his red eyes, it was really frightening, his heart sank slightly, and he asked, "Chunyu, you are dizzy and feel cold. "

Chunyushang endured the pain, and replied: "It's a bit cold in this damn weather. His 'grandmother', give me a sip of wine sweat."

"No, you can't drink now." Huang Zongdao said in a deep voice, hearing Chunyu Shang's teeth chattering from the cold, Huang Zongdao ordered the regiment's training soldiers to take a two-day blanket to wrap him.

The battle on the mountain road ahead is still going on, and Ming Hongdu is guarding below the pass.

"Go straight, let me go." Jian Cheng tapped the iron shield with a horizontal knife, and the sergeants of Du Chuijiao's team also held iron shields and looked at Zhao Xingde.

"No." Zhao Xingde flatly refused.He already knew that the Assassin sect used highly poisonous crossbow arrows that penetrated armor, and he did not want to sacrifice his sergeants in vain. He only frowned and considered countermeasures. poisonous snake.It is conceivable that every time Xia Jun threw the oil tank on fire, these people would retreat and take shelter, and after the flames were extinguished, they would come out to defend again.

He secretly said: "It would be great if there was an iron barrel cannon." Unfortunately, the cannon is too heavy to be towed in a short time.Thinking of this, a gleam of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind, and the Thunderbolt Soldier, who looked at death like home, appeared in front of his eyes.

"General Duan, the last general thinks that you can use a stone cart to throw the ignited thunderbolt behind the pass." Zhao Xingde said to Duan Huaixian, the thunderbolt is a powerful weapon for defending cities in the Central Plains. It is impossible that Kangju City was not prepared .

"Is it safe to throw the pre-ignited thunderbolt with a trebuchet?" Duan Huaixian hesitated. The method Zhao Xingde said seemed whimsical. Not sure, the rock throwing machine is far less accurate than the cannon. Those kerosene tanks are very different from the Zhentianlei in weight, and it takes repeated trials to get it right, but now, there is no time.

Duan Huaixian was meditating on himself when he suddenly noticed the coolness under his feet. He looked down and saw a lot of clear water flowing down the mountain road. It was already winter, and the flowing water turned to ice not long after the mountain road. There are mountain walls on both sides of the mountain road , narrow and steep, which is not conducive to upward attack, now it is extremely wet and slippery, and it is easy to stumble and fall if you are not careful.

"If the calculation is accurate, there should be no problem. Let the general have a try." Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice.

"Okay, then I'll let you try, if it doesn't work, raise your iron shield and attack." Duan Huaixian nodded.He waved his hand and ordered the marching commander Jin Changtai to obey his military order, and flew back to Kangju City to call in a hundred thunderstorms.The defenders of Kangju City did not dare to neglect. After being notified, they transported it in a camel cart overnight, and sent it to the foot of the mountain in the early morning of the next day.

Zhao Xingde re-estimated the distance between the catapult and the target based on the angle and force of the catapult, and the weight difference between the thunder and the fire tank, repeatedly calculated the parabolic line, and tried shooting three times at the foot of the mountain. Five rounds, made a few corrections.He also marked the long and short part of the Zhentianlei 'drug' twister, and tried it a few times. The time it takes for the lead wire to burn from there to the end is a little longer than the time it takes for the stone cart to be thrown behind the enemy's pass.Then he urged the sergeant to carry the shocking thunder to the launching site with people carrying horses. Only five pieces were placed in a pile next to the launching stone cart, and the sergeant continued to move the rest from the place where the ammunition was piled farther away. before shipping.

After repeatedly discussing the essentials of firing with the gunner of the firing stone cart, Zhao Xingde refused Du Chuijiao's offer to light the fire, and personally took the fire bag in his hand, blew on it, and moved closer to the "medicine" introduction.After the faint light of the fire, the gunpowder primer began to blaze, and the hearts of the surrounding soldiers were all hanging in their throats. The power of this thunderbolt was not small. Once it exploded, everyone around would either die or die. Disabled.Behind the boulder a few feet away, Captain Duan Huaixian looked solemnly at the field where the stone cart was sent, and farther away, the soldiers holding bows and shields all held their breath.

The gunner of the sending stone vehicle looked at Zhao De's raised right hand without blinking.In the howling northwest wind, he held the heavy hammer that fired the cannon high with both hands, shaking slightly.

The gunpowder primer burns extremely fast, causing everyone near the stone cart to suffer. Zhao De leans his face in front of the gunpowder primer and carefully observes the burning position. This will be life and death. The extra focus made everyone around feel a chill.

Suddenly, the jumping spark spread to the pre-calibrated position, "Let it go!" Zhao De shouted violently, and swung his right hand violently.The sound shook the surrounding valleys to faintly echo.

The gunner of the rock-throwing vehicle was stunned for a moment, and then came back to his senses. The hammer of the firing gun hit the machine teeth with a "bang", and the tightened tendon spring made a rattling sound, and the torque drove the rock-throwing arm. The Thunderbolt, weighing more than a hundred catties, was thrown into the air with great inertia and the sound of the wind. In Zhao Xingde's eyes, it drew a perfect parabola, which was almost accurate. After the enemy army guarded the pass, there was almost no pause for two breaths, and there was a loud "boom", and the mountains responded, and even the snow on the distant mountain peaks seemed to tremble slightly.

"Okay!" Wang Tongdeng punched his right fist on the mountain wall.Beside him, Chunyu Shang's face was already livid with cold, and his body twitched from time to time.Huang Zongdao said that this is a symptom of snake venom.

"Come again!" Zhao Xingde waved his hand, another thunderbolt was placed on the sending stone cart, and he still personally observed and issued the order.The huge roar resounded through the valley again and again.The mountains responded, and all the beasts panicked. Many of the Hassan believers who had been hiding behind the stone pass were blown to pieces.

"We, Zhao Dutou, are a man." Du Chuijiao said to the centurions with a smile on his face.Duan Huaixian also let out a sigh of relief, the selection and training of Chengying camp sergeants is not easy, if it is not a last resort, he is not willing to take it out to fight.

After Zhao Xingde fired dozens of cannonballs, he felt that the tendon of the bow spring of the trebuchet had been slightly relaxed, and gradually one or two thunderbolts from the trebuchet landed in front of the pass.He asked the gunner to temporarily stop firing, found a piece of paper, and recalculated the position of the catapult with a pencil on a rock.Although the three marching sima knew how to observe the sky and locate it, they had never seen the position of the stone cart estimated on the spot, and it was so accurate. They looked at him in surprise.