Tao Seventeen took a few craftsmen to drill holes in the cast bronze cannon, and asked Du Zhongxiao on the side: "Official, how much gunpowder does such a big cannon have?" How big should the shells be? In my opinion, I'm afraid that one person can't move. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "If one person can't move, there will be two people, and if two people are not enough, there will be three people, what is this!" ”

Tao Qiqi nodded, was quiet for a while, and then asked, "Official, what's the use of such a big cannon?" Our small cannons, as long as they hit people, even if they wear heavy armor, they will definitely die. Can such a big cannon beat people into pulp? It's still just a dead one. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled: "Who told you that the cannon is used to hit people?" It's good to hit people with a gun. Cannons are used to siege cities, and when they go down, the towers will be shattered, and the walls will tremble. As long as you are willing to spend money, it is not difficult to collapse the city wall. ”

People who have seen it think that artillery is a sharp weapon, but no one has proposed to cast a bigger cannon, just because it is mostly Tao Seventeen's idea. Most people think that guns are used against people, and the current iron cannons are powerful enough, and some people even feel that they are too powerful. As for the use of directly bombarding the city wall, no one thought about it, and common sense felt that it was impossible.

Can artillery knock down the walls? Du Zhongxiao also thought about it carefully, with the current solid bullet, nine times out of ten it can't. The walls of the great city were several paces wide, and there were cars and horses on them, how could they collapse with iron bullets? But is the cannon useful? It's still useful.

In order to solve this question in his heart, Du Zhongxiao studied the city wall of Xiangzhou very much. After careful consideration, it was determined that the cannon was not used to destroy the city walls, but rather to destroy the city defense system. The reason why the city wall is so strong is not only that it is tall and strong, but more importantly, it is a complete defense system. Even if one point is breached, the defenders can quickly gather forces along the walls and plug the gap.

The significance of the cannon is that it is powerful enough to cut off the connection of the city wall, create isolated points, and focus on breakthroughs.

The battle report of Beizhou a few days ago made Du Zhongxiao even more convinced of his thoughts.

Under the policy of appeasement, the people in the city took the initiative to receive the officers and soldiers outside the city into the city, and at night hung a large rope from the city wall, so that the besieging army could go up the city. That night, in a short time, hundreds of soldiers climbed the city walls. From this point of view, it was not difficult for the besieging troops to climb the city walls, but under the fierce resistance in the city, there was no guarantee that there would be a steady stream of troops to climb the city.

Originally, it was a good opportunity to break through Beizhou, but the troops who climbed the city wall first were too greedy for merit, and they actually cut the rope themselves, wanting to win the battle merit alone. As a result, he was killed by the defenders of the city and missed a good opportunity. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers landed in the city, and the people who led them into the city came down in time, otherwise they would have been killed by these soldiers who were greedy for merit.

After this defeat, Ming Ho was under unprecedented pressure, and he commanded Jianqu City while attacking the city under Beizhou City every day. It is to build a huge slope with bamboo and wood, connect to the city wall of Beizhou, and the siege officers and soldiers run up to the city.

Missing a great opportunity, the imperial court no longer trusts Myeongho, but because it is approaching the end of the year, there is no immediate replacement.

Du Zhongxiao didn't expect that in a small Beizhou, there were not many defenders in the city, so he couldn't attack it for many days. Originally, a few days ago, he felt that it was a pity that his newly made cannon might not be able to catch up with the battle of Beizhou, and he missed the opportunity, but suddenly saw hope again. These days, I personally supervised Tao Seventeen and Sun Ran here, and led the craftsmen to work day and night to make cannons, and yesterday, it was finally cast, although there were some small defects, which did not hinder the overall situation.

Du Zhongxiao originally wanted to cast the cannon, process the cannon breech, and try to make it as smooth as possible, but now it was too late, so he could only let Sun Ran take someone to polish it. At the same time, Tao Seventeen led people to drill the hole of the fire door, make a gun carriage, and try to grab time.

After all this is ready, it is necessary to use the prepared iron bullet and test the charge little by little. The charge is not as much as possible, too much will burn inadequately, the power will decrease, or there is a danger of exploding. Rather, there should be a suitable charge so that the shell can be fired to maximum power.

Whether the time for testing the gun was long or short, Du Zhongxiao didn't count it in his heart, so he could only try it little by little.

Under the city of Beizhou, Ming Ho looked at the Qucheng not far away, and his face was gloomy. This is his last hope, if Qucheng can't climb up, he will be helpless. The last time the city failed, the city was strengthened, not only the people were watched, but the city walls were patrolled much stricter. Now, even if there are four more people like that who are willing to help the officers and soldiers, they can't find the opportunity to go up the city wall and hang down the ropes.

Thinking of this, Myeongho looked at Wang Xin, who was riding on a horse not far away and commanding the soldiers, and sighed.

As a veteran in the army, who would have thought that Wang Xin would mess up such a simple thing? Wang Xin entered the forbidden army with courage, started as a pawn, and rose to the rank of general step by step.

Myeongho couldn't figure it out, he held his breath for a while, and he had nowhere to sprinkle. Wang Xin is the handsome man all the way, he admitted his mistake in time afterwards, and even asked for punishment in the last chapter, he did everything he had to do, what else could he do? In the end, the imperial court fined Wang Xin for three months and made him guilty of meritorious service.

What's wrong? Du Zhongxiao of Xiangzhou read the Di Bao and once concluded that there was no plan in advance, there was no organization before the attack, there was no discipline during the attack, and the last attack was a military operation with three nos. Du Zhongxiao took these as an opportunity for himself to learn, and thought that if he let himself do it, he would definitely make a detailed attack plan in advance. How many people were sent to the city, which generals were in charge, and what tasks were performed. Which troops will ascend first, which troops will follow, who will be responsible for taking the city gate after ascending the city, and who will be responsible for guarding the landing point, must be orderly. When the real attack is made, there must be someone sent by the commander who is in charge there, and directly commands the commander of the city. If someone does not carry out the battle plan, it is necessary to enforce battlefield discipline in a timely manner.

Ming Ho sent Wang Xin, Wang Xin sent two more commanders, and then everyone fell asleep, what is this? The defeat is not unjust. The warplanes on the battlefield are fleeting, where can there be such a waste.

Of course, these Du Zhongxiao can only think about it for himself, and can't tell others. One is that no one listens to him, and the other offends people. War examples are the best military teaching materials, and the key is how to learn them and what to learn from them.

Seeing that there was less than half a month left before the New Year, Ming Ho became more and more anxious, urging the soldiers to rush to work day and night.

On December 17, Qucheng, which was in a hurry, finally began to see its scale, and only the last section of the city wall remained. Ming Ho sighed and strictly ordered the army under the city not to slack off and prepare to attack the city.

On this day, the imperial court once again sent the chamberlain He Chengyong from the capital, bringing a large amount of money and silk, and giving special money. This was the practice of the Song army, and it cost money to fight a war, and without money in hand, the combat troops would have no morale.

After the money was distributed, tens of thousands of troops under the city thundered with joy, shouting long live, and the sound shook the four fields.

He Chengyong looked at the high morale of the army, and said to Ming Ho beside him: "Advice, Qucheng has been completed, and the imperial court has issued money in time, and the city will be broken this time." Due to the rebellion in Beizhou, the Khitan envoys had to make a detour to Mengzhou, which made the imperial court lose face. If you can break the city before the year, you can save one or two. ”

Ming Ho said: "Now that everything is ready, the military heart is available, and the city will be broken!" ”

Although he said it categorically, with the lesson of the last failure, Myeongho always had some worries in his heart.

Why Cheng Yong prepared a reception feast, and when he was about to start, Wang Kai hurriedly came, pulled Ming Ho aside, and said in a low voice: "Advice, Xiangzhou Du Zhongxiao came to the book, saying that it is a powerful weapon to help us break the city!" ”

Ming Ho was stunned for a moment, and then remembered who Du Zhongxiao was, and said to Wang Kai: "He is now living in the pavilion and has a key position, what kind of weapon does he have to break the city?" ”

Wang Kai said: "When Bachelor Du was in Xiangzhou, because he accidentally caught a prisoner who was good at casting a big bell, he asked him to cast a cannon, which happened to be cast two days ago. He was able to enter the pavilion thanks to the recommendation of the advisors, and he came to assist the city of his own volition. ”

Ming Ho recommended Du Zhongxiao because Wang Kai tried his best to lose the award, and he did have political achievements on Hedong Road, and the two were not familiar with each other. When Du Zhongxiao was in the capital, he visited Ming Ho and did not leave a particularly deep impression on him.

After listening to Wang Kai's words, Ming Ho said: "Artillery? We now have a lot of them in the army, but the city of Beizhou is strong, and it is not of much use. ”

Wang Kai said: "This time is different, Master Du said in the letter that the newly cast cannon is several times that of the small cannon used now, and the power is amazing. A cannon can shake the city wall, and it is not surprising that it collapses. ”

Ming Ho shook his head when he heard this: "Taiwei, when a literati speaks, it is inevitable to exaggerate, and it is really not allowed." Now the artillery in the army is just a white spot on the city wall, what do you say to collapse the city wall, isn't it a joke? ”

Wang Kai once worked with Du Zhongxiao, and knew that he was not an exaggerated person, so he bowed his hand to Ming Hao: "Advice, when I was on Linfu Road, I worked with Master Du, and I knew that he was a person, and I would never say anything inconsequential." There is no harm in having him alone, and if it succeeds, it is also a credit for advice. It is advisable to write to the imperial court and let Du Zhongxiao come to Beizhou with the newly cast artillery. Now Beizhou is the attention of the imperial court, and it will be agreed. ”

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