Chapter 260 Two Catapults
After appeasing Cao Bao and inspecting the iron factory, Liu Feng gave Cao Bao a time limit to marry him after settling the matter in Xiapi Kingdom.
In Cao Bao's reluctant farewell, Liu Feng left Xiapi and returned to Tancheng.
After returning to Tancheng, Liu Feng immediately went to visit his eldest mother and his mother.
Liu Feng's aunt and mother had not seen Liu Feng for half a year. They were very worried about him and refused to let go of him.
In the next few days, Liu Feng not only resumed his morning and evening routine, but also spent time with the two women without having time to deal with other matters.
Fortunately, the Wu family and the Tian family are also very busy now. After soothing their homesickness, they also let Liu Feng go to deal with matters.
The Wu family and the Tian family today are not ordinary people.
She is the mother and first wife of the General Hussars of the Han Dynasty, and the eldest mother and biological mother of the General of the Han Dynasty Zhengnan.
Not to mention the powerful local nobles in Tancheng, even the wives of powerful nobles from the surrounding counties would come to visit and greet the Wu and Tian families. When Liu Feng's aunt and mother had nothing to do, they would also invite them to attend gatherings in the state capital to enhance their relationship.
The relieved Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief. The enthusiasm and concern of Wu and Tian were so intense that Liu Feng felt a little stressed.
Soon, Liu Fa, Lou Shi, Liu Li, Sa Heli, Xian Yuyin and others all gathered together, preparing to report on the affairs they were responsible for.
As for the affairs such as farming and Liu Erying, Liu Feng just took a cursory look at them and let them go without any bias.
Because these things are not very difficult, the main thing is to follow the rules and regulations, and then ensure the logistics supplies, basically there will be no major problems.
Liu Feng's main concern at this time was the workshop that Xian Yuyin was in charge of.
"What's the progress of the previously arranged projects?"
With Liu Feng's question, everyone in the hall focused their attention on Xian Yuyin.
Xian Yuyin was also one of the first group of young men to follow Liu Feng, and was a branch of the Xianyu family in Youzhou.
But when he was young and homeless, the master did not reach out to help him, but Liu Feng saved his life when he was about to freeze to death.
Xian Yuyin is quite talented as a craftsman, so he was appointed by Liu Feng to be responsible for several craft projects.
These include counterweight trebuchets, waterwheels, mills and many other projects. He even specially mobilized a few key young people from Liu Erying who were more interested in craftsmanship to cooperate with him in overall planning.
Although the amount of capital invested at the beginning was very small, only tens of thousands of money and four or five craftsmen.
But as Liu Feng's family became richer and richer, he was given more manpower, and more and more funds and materials.
In particular, Liu Feng also drew a lot of sketches, some of which were even very detailed, such as counterweight trebuchets, waterwheels and mills. Although Liu Feng could not remember all the details, he still remembered the general functions. of.
“Reporting to the young master, the counterweight trebuchet, waterwheel, mill, rollover, etc. have made great progress, and samples have been produced.”
Xian Yuyin looked a little nervous. While reporting, he secretly looked at Liu Feng's expression, trying to guess whether the other party was satisfied with the progress of his mission.
"Oh?"
When Liu Feng heard this, he immediately became interested: "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go and have a look now."
Liu Feng directly He stood up and called to everyone: "Since you are all here, let's go together and let you feel the power of the strange and obscene skills."
Although Liu Fa and others did not understand why Liu Feng cared so much, But they also stood up and followed Liu Feng.
The place arranged for Xian Yuyin and the others was right behind the state capital. A large area was specially fenced off for them, and it even included a small pool built to divert water from outside Tan City into the city.
After walking out of the back door of the state capital, it only took a moment to arrive at the workshop.
There are also fifty soldiers on duty here, and no outsiders are allowed to pry.
Since Liu Feng continued to increase the resources invested, the number of craftsmen here has increased to more than 30 people, most of whom are carpenters and a small number of blacksmiths.
These people were gathered together, and under the arrangement of Xian Yuyin, they tried to reproduce the objects in the sketch with reference to the sketch drawn by Liu Feng.
"Young Master, which thing do you want to see first?"
Xian Yuyin followed Liu Feng and asked respectfully.
Liu Feng paused for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he decided: "Let's look at the trebuchet first."
"Yes! Young Master!"
Xian Yuyin trotted quickly and guided Liu Feng in front: "Young Master, please come this way."
At this time, the workshop area was quite large and was divided into several areas.
Among them, the trebuchet workshop is obviously one of the best.
Not only does it occupy the largest area, but it also has the most manpower.
Among them, Lu Gong, who successfully reproduced the Qu Yuanli, is also here.
After Lu Gong saw Liu Feng from a distance, he hurriedly came up to him and knelt on the ground to salute Liu Feng from a distance.
Liu Feng took the initiative to step forward, regardless of the status gap, and personally helped him up. He smiled and said: "Lu Gong is always strong. He has already made contributions to my father and Xu Li before. This time he has made new contributions. It can be said that he has made great contributions to the future. In the future, When you see me again, there is no need to kneel down.”
Although the Han Dynasty does not respect the kneeling ceremony, it does not mean that there is no kneeling ceremony.
You must know that there are authentic nobles in the Han Dynasty. If you, a commoner, see the nobles, it is a sin to stand in the way.
It’s just that the ruling class rarely kneels down, especially when it comes to monarchy.
The vassal power of the Han Dynasty was quite powerful compared to later generations.
Leaving aside the power of the prime minister, the reason why the Three Dukes have such a high status is because the Three Dukes were personally invited by the emperor.
Theoretically, as ministers of the Three Dukes, the emperor would like to thank them for their contribution to the country and the royal family.
In this situation of equality, kneeling down and worshiping is naturally not popular.
At the same time, the people of the Han Dynasty are strong in character, respect righteousness, respect filial piety, and have a strong desire to serve their country, so kneeling down and worshiping are not popular among the people.
This creates the illusion that there is no kneeling ceremony in the Han Dynasty. In fact, there is still some.
Lu Gong was just a craftsman, while Liu Feng was already a high-ranking official worth two thousand shi. He was even more powerful than the three princes and had the power to open a government office.
With such a huge identity gap between the two sides, it is not surprising that the Lu Guild Union took the initiative to kneel down and worship.
"The common people thanked the general for his kindness."
Lu Gong was obviously a little too excited and couldn't help but want to kneel down again, but Liu Feng stopped him with quick eyes and hands.
Liu Feng did not criticize the other party harshly. After all, Lu Gong was just a craftsman from the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he could be said to be a real lower-class people.
So, he took the initiative to change the topic: "Ah Yin, which piece of equipment was developed by Lu Gong?"
All kinds of trebuchets have been made.”
“Oh, all of them have been made?”
Liu Feng was really surprised this time. The two sketches he drew at that time were: One type is naturally the most famous counterweight trebuchet, and the return cannon of the Yuan Dynasty is the most powerful example.
The other is a wheel-driven trebuchet.
If the counterweight trebuchet is the cannon of the classical era, then the wheel trebuchet is almost the heavy machine gun of this era.
The wheel trebuchet is an improvement on the lever trebuchet from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The lever is changed to a fast rotating wheel mechanism, which allows the trebuchet to continuously throw the trebuchet in a short time. Multiple stones are quite powerful.
However, the stones that can be thrown by a wheel-operated trebuchet generally weigh only 5 to 10 kilograms. In front of a counterweight trebuchet, he can hardly be regarded as a younger brother. He should be called a grandson.
The stones that can be thrown by a counterweight trebuchet start at 60 kilograms, and can even reach more than 300 kilograms in the end.
Of course, the greater the weight of the stone, the greater the wear and tear on the trebuchet itself, and the shorter the throwing distance.
Generally speaking, the distance of wheeled trebuchet is from eighty to one hundred and twenty meters.
The counterweight trebuchet is much stronger than the wheeled trebuchet in terms of the weight and distance of the thrown objects. It can throw a 200-pound thrown object more than 200 meters.
Originally, Liu Feng mainly hoped to make progress in the counterweight trebuchet. Unexpectedly, Xian Yuyin and Lu Gong gave him a double surprise.
"Okay, let's take a look at this first."
Liu Feng immediately decided to be the first to test the effect of the trebuchet.
The finished products of the trebuchets are very large, and the structure is quite complex, so they are relatively easy to be damaged. Therefore, Xian Yuyin specially built two warehouses to store the finished products and important parts of the trebuchet.
Liu Feng first chose a large warehouse, and when he walked in, he discovered that it was indeed a counterweight trebuchet.
The initial finished product of this counterweight trebuchet is five meters high, four meters long and one and a half meters wide, and is mainly divided into seven parts.
Compared to the returning cannon, the counterweight trebuchet in front of me is still quite crude, but the general parts are already in place.
If you want to continue to improve in the future, you only need to improve the toughness of the material and continue to increase the lever and the overall structure to effectively enhance the power effect.
“Young Master, this trebuchet can throw a round stone weighing sixty kilograms up to a distance of one hundred and forty steps.”
Xianyu Yindai With an anxious mood, he continued to introduce the performance of the trebuchet to Liu Feng: "It can be thrown thirty times in a row without any problems. But after thirty times, the probability of damage to the trebuchet will be greatly increased."
< br>Liu Feng nodded with satisfaction. One hundred and twenty steps was almost two hundred meters, which greatly exceeded his psychological expectations.
You must know that Liu Feng's psychological expectation is only to throw thirty kilograms of stone bullets to a distance of 100 meters.
After all, if it can reach this level, it already has practical functions.
The lethality of bows and arrows in this era is only thirty to fifty meters, and strong bows can only reach eighty meters.
The armor-piercing effect of crossbow arrows is very good, but the range is actually about the same as that of bows and arrows, and the maximum range is even worse than that of strong bows.
So as long as the counterweight trebuchet can meet Liu Feng's psychological expectations, it can be directly thrown into the siege battle. After all, its range has exceeded the long-range firepower range of the defenders at the top of the city.
The data of the trebuchet is now almost double Liu Feng's psychological expectation, which means that not only can the trebuchet be put into combat immediately, but its safety has also been greatly improved.
What originally had to be pushed a hundred meters below the city, now only needs to stay two hundred meters away to attack the city wall.
The range advantage in the middle can bring huge security and greatly increase the risk of the opponent going out of the city to destroy the trebuchet.
"Well done."
Liu Feng first praised Xian Yuyin a few words, and then said to Lu Gong: "Lu Gong's skills are extraordinary, and he has made new achievements this time. Later, They will both be rewarded.”
Xian Yuyin and Lu Gong immediately burst into smiles when they heard this, especially Xian Yuyin, who had a fatter face and narrowed his eyes.
"Let's go and see the trebuchet again."
Liu Feng led the way and walked towards another warehouse.
Xian Yuyin, Lu Gong, Liu Fa and others followed suit.
This time, the trebuchet placed in the warehouse was much smaller, no more than three meters high, and less than two meters long and wide.
Different from the counterweighted trebuchet, the wheeled trebuchet is not equipped with a rope, but a plate. It can continuously project small stone projectiles within ten kilograms over a distance of more than 300 meters, and can also project them simultaneously. Five or six small stone bullets, but the range will be significantly shortened.
Liu Feng circled the trebuchet twice, and then asked Lu Gong: "How much does this trebuchet weigh?"
After Lu Gong thought for a moment, he replied: "About one thousand one hundred. "How many kilograms."
One kilogram in the Han Dynasty was almost half a kilogram in later generations, and more than one thousand one hundred kilograms was equivalent to about three hundred kilograms in later generations.
The weight of 1,100 kilograms can be dragged by a single horse and mule as long as it is equipped with a suitable cart.
Trebuchets are often huge. Let alone counterweight trebuchets. Even wheel-operated trebuchets often have a tonnage of several hundred kilograms.
It is really difficult to transport the former. Not only is it difficult to have such a huge vehicle, but also if you want to pull such a weight, you must have a configuration of more than two horses.
The difficulty of driving a single horse mule and a double horse mule increases exponentially. The time and resources required to train a charioteer who can control two horses is enough to train three to five horses. A single horse and mule charioteer.
The cargo that a single horse and mule can pull is about 300 kilograms to 700 kilograms, which is more than 1,200 kilograms when converted into kilograms in the Han Dynasty.
The difference mainly depends on the type of horse and the strength of the individual horse.
A particularly excellent draft horse can even pull more than twice the weight.
Therefore, Liu Feng only placed his hope on the wheeled trebuchet. It weighed 1100 kilograms, and even a single horse and mule could pull it. He could even prepare some ammunition on the car.
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Liu Feng was in a good mood and asked tentatively: "Can the counterweight trebuchet be made lighter? As long as its weight is controlled within 2,400 kilograms , Even if the power and range are reduced, it doesn’t matter, it’s best to be able to pull it with a single horse and mule.”
Lu Gong frowned, silently calculated the weight of the counterweight trebuchet, and made a decisive decision. He shook his head: "Young Master, I'm afraid this won't work. The body of the counterweight trebuchet itself requires strong toughness. If you reduce the weight rashly, it will only weaken the trebuchet itself, which will seriously affect the safety and accuracy. "
Liu Feng attached great importance to the experts' opinions and immediately said that there was no need to change it.
Thinking about it carefully, it is true that a counterweighted trebuchet is not used in field battles. That thing is too heavy and cumbersome.
On the contrary, the wheeled trebuchet is quite good. The thought of being able to use a carriage to maneuver the wheeled trebuchet on the battlefield can formulate tactics and suddenly throw a large number of stones at a certain enemy position to open a gap for cavalry and cavalry. Infantry expands the results.
Liu Feng felt very excited when he thought about it.
I am afraid that few troops can withstand the baptism of stone bullets.
"Let's decide on the day after tomorrow."
After thinking about it, Liu Feng decided: "The day after tomorrow we will go out of the city and test the actual effect of these two machines."
So far, I have indeed seen the finished product and heard the various parameters of the finished product, but after all, I have not seen it with my own eyes.
Although the data is quite encouraging, in the end, seeing is believing.
So Liu Feng finally arranged the actual combat date.
Liu Feng had actually set a standard in his mind a long time ago, and he didn't expect them to fully meet the standard. As long as they could reach 60% of the standard, Liu Feng would be regarded as qualified for Xian Yuyin and Lu Gong.
If it can reach more than 70% of the standard, it will be regarded as good and certain rewards can be given.
If they can reach more than 80% of the standard, they are considered excellent, and Liu Feng will definitely give them heavy rewards.
As for how high it is, Liu Feng will not consider it for the time being.
Because there is a high probability that it will not happen. If it does happen, consider it a surprise.
After hearing Liu Feng’s arrangement, Xian Yuyin and Lu Gong became obviously nervous. But it was just a little nervous, their finished products had been tested in actual combat, and they were not deceiving Liu Feng.
Xian Yuyin suppressed the slight panic in his heart and replied: "Yes, young master, I will arrange the relevant matters tomorrow and practice outside the city the day after tomorrow."
"Good!"
Liu Feng nodded with satisfaction: "Let's look at other things."
"Yes! Young Master."
Xian Yuyin hurriedly led the way. He took Liu Feng to other courtyards.
“Go and see the waterwheel.”
After leaving the yard where the trebuchet workshop was located, Liu Feng took the initiative to ask to see the waterwheel.
Several machines related to water conservancy facilities now have a high status in Liu Feng's heart.
Because a two-year drought will break out in Huaisi next year. This drought has completely destroyed Yuan Shu's tax base, forcing Yuan Shu to expand externally in an attempt to plunder enough food.
Because Yuan Shu at that time directly gave Sun Ce the opportunity to stab him in the back because he was proclaimed emperor.
Sun Ce's backstab directly caused Jiangdong's rebellion.
The prefects of Danyang and Wu counties appointed by Yuan Shu were expelled by the generals in Sun Ce's camp, while the Sun family troops in Guangling and Liyang in the north of the Yangtze River directly gave up their official positions and territories and returned to Jiangdong.
It seems that in just an instant, the Sun family and Yuan Shu were completely separated.
However, Sun Ce will not have this opportunity again in this time and space. Although Yuan Shu, who is currently oppressed into a corner by Liu Bei, is not dying, he is still getting by.
Proclaim yourself emperor?
Now Yuan Shu only dares to have fun in his dreams.
In Liu Feng's plan, he will start to mobilize troops in the second half of this year, focusing on the two counties in Jiangbei.
Victory is a sure thing, but there are quite a lot of troubles after winning.
The first thing to bear the brunt is the drought next year.
After killing Yuan Shu, Xuzhou had to help him withstand the thunder of drought.
(End of this chapter)