12dz Chapter 124 Spy!
Chapter 124 Spy!
Making black powder is a very simple technique.
The big problem is how to release the black powder and form real combat effectiveness.
It is obviously impossible to ask Qin Erwu to hold a gunpowder barrel and blow up the enemy general.
Qin Erwu also realized this problem and frowned:
"Yeah, I can't carry a barrel of gunpowder to blow Kong Dun to death. Isn't this thing useless?"
"Once I have packed it up and thrown it out with a catapult, it will be useful."
Ye Kun asked everyone to go back to guard the city, and he went to the blacksmith and coppersmith workshops to check.
A few days ago, Ye Kun asked everyone to make small-mouthed copper cans to make bombs.
Bronze has a low melting point, a little over 800 degrees. It can be melted in a crucible and then directly cast into a copper jar using plaster or sand casting molds.
Thousands of years ago, the bronze casting technology in the Shang and Zhou dynasties was already very mature, and could cast huge bronze tripods with exquisite patterns.
Therefore, there is no technical problem in manufacturing copper cans. You can also set up pre-breaking lines so that after the copper cans explode, a large number of fragments will be formed, causing lethality.
It just costs too much!
Fortunately, Ye Kun won consecutive battles and seized countless scrap metal from Huang Tiandao’s army. He had enough materials and was not sad for the time being.
Hundreds of copper jars were made in the past few days.
All of them underwent watertightness test and airtightness test, and basically passed. Those that failed were sent back for redoing.
Ye Kun moved the copper jar back and conducted research on its placement and delayed explosion.
The catapult can be used for the delivery, but it will cause a delayed explosion, which makes Ye Kun a little worried.
With current materials and technology, it is impossible to achieve precision.
If the explosion is too early, it may hurt one's own people;
If the explosion is too late, the copper pot may fall into the enemy camp and shatter automatically, making the gunpowder ineffective and wasting materials.
Bronze is inherently brittle, and a thin-skinned copper jar like this really can't withstand being dropped.
For the fuse, Ye Kun set the same specifications, repeatedly tested the burning speed, and then arranged the length of the fuse.
After tinkering with it for a whole day, Ye Kun integrated a large amount of data and took an average value as a parameter.
Ye Kun also tried throwing the copper jar from a long distance and found that there was a 30% chance of it breaking after landing.
Wrapping the copper pot with straw rope for protection can effectively reduce the breakage rate, but it will affect the range.
After some comparison, Ye Kun still chose the straw rope protection device.
At noon, reports came from the south and east of the city at the same time that Kong Dun had launched a large-scale siege.
Ye Kun hurriedly put on his armor and went to the top of the city wall to check.
The two sides were fighting, and arrows were raining down.
All of Kong Dun's troops had been dispatched, leaving only a thousand cavalrymen to support the rear.
The enemy's catapults and crossbows formed a line and advanced towards the city to cover the shield cars and siege vehicles.
The vanguard troops have removed the chevaux de frise at the foot of the city and are filling the moat with soil and stones.
Ye Kun faced the enemy's rain of arrows and shouted:
"Heavy archers, specialize in attacking the enemy's strong crossbowmen and catapults. Light crossbowmen, shoot at the nearby soldiers, shoot at their faces. The catapults in the city, attack with all your might!"
The enemy is attacking the city, and the only threat to Ye Kun at this stage is the crossbowmen.
If we kill their crossbowmen, the guards on the city walls will no longer be a threat.
The catapults in the city started moving, and lime bullets and liquor bullets kept flying out.
But Kong Dun was also smart. He equipped the soldiers with very thin and transparent silk masks to resist lime. He also made the soldiers wear wet clothes and soak their armor and leather armor with water to deal with strong alcohol bullets.
Alcohol tends to evaporate excessively and is easily soluble in water, which reduces its concentration, so its power is greatly reduced.
On the top of the city wall, the heavy archers quickly adjusted their tactics and focused on shooting at the enemy's crossbowmen in the distance.
The catapults in the city were also equipped with hot oil bombs.
The boiling point of oil is over 200 degrees. From the perspective of burns, it is much more severe than boiling water.
Pingye County did not have that much reserve oil for war, so Ye Kun added sand into the oil pan, put it in a can, and sent it out together.
Hot oil bombs with sand are more powerful.
The enemy's skin was burned and the sand stuck to it, causing greater pain and making it extremely difficult to clean the wounds.
There are four hundred powerful crossbows and heavy arrows on the top of the city wall, and three hundred catapults inside the city wall, with powerful firepower.
Under the full-force attack, there were screams outside the city.
Thousands of men had already fallen, wailing at the feet of their comrades.
Kong Dun's troops could not hold on any longer, and the rear troops dared not move forward.
Seeing this, Ye Kun issued an order: "Stop the catapults and let them move forward!"
The purpose of a city defense battle is to consume the enemy's military strength, that is, to give them hope and encourage them to move forward.
But Kong Dun suddenly stopped the attack and sounded the retreat.
"Heavy arrow pursuit!"
Ye Kun hadn't had enough of the shooting yet, so he ordered his men to continue shooting.
This did not stop until the other party left the cordon.
Qin Erwu and others took their soldiers out to clean up the battlefield, rearrange the chevaux de frise, and clear the moat.
In this battle, thousands of enemy soldiers were killed or wounded, and a batch of armor, swords, spears, and bows and arrows were seized.
On Ye Kun's side, only five or six people died and more than forty people were injured.
Huangfu Lin rushed in from outside the east gate and reported the situation:
"Master Ye, I think the enemy is waging a war of attrition with us, consuming our heavy arrows, jars and pots used for catapults, and strong liquor and kerosene... He knows that Pingye County is a small place and does not have that much war preparation."
Ye Kun nodded: "So I have to clean up the battlefield, pick up the heavy arrows, and sharpen them before using them again."
The armament officer reported: "Lord Ye, we are running low on kerosene and jars. If the kerosene is used up, we will not be able to deal with their siege vehicles and shield vehicles."
When you fight a war, you're fighting for consumption, which means you're fighting for your overall financial resources.
Ye Kun killed and wounded thousands of Kong Dun's men, but he also consumed a lot of the city's war supplies.
It doesn’t matter if the arrow is heavy, after shooting it, some of it can be retrieved.
Blacksmiths are also working overtime to continue forging supplies.
It was just that there was no time to make kerosene and jars and pots. Especially kerosene, without the raw materials, you couldn't make it.
"There are still some jars and cans on South Street. Come with me to get them."
Ye Kun walked down from the top of the city wall and said, "To the south and east of the city, send four small stone-throwing vehicles each, leave some kerosene, and focus on attacking the enemy's siege vehicles and shield vehicles."
After arranging the jars and cans from South Street, Ye Kun went to the gunpowder factory, took out some raw materials, adjusted the proportions, and made incendiary bombs.
Reduce the proportion of saltpeter, increase the proportion of charcoal, and add grease, and it will be a good incendiary bomb.
It will deflagrate, not explode.
Although it is not as good as a gasoline bomb, its effect is far greater than a liquor bomb.
The enemy only has two shield vehicles and four siege vehicles in total, so these incendiary bombs are enough.
The next morning, Ye Kun was on the top of the city wall observing the enemy situation and checking the city defenses when several fast horses came from the direction of Xiping Mountain.
It was Yan Liuhai's personal soldier who brought a bloody man.
The bloody man jumped off his horse, knelt on the ground and cried:
"Master Ye, I am Zhong Shan, the personal soldier of Master Shangguan. Our Fourth Master, Master Shangguan, has ordered you to send troops immediately to support Tianmen County! Here is Master Shangguan's letter, please take a look!"
After saying that, the bloody man held out a piece of cloth with both hands.
Ye Kun frowned: "Is Tianmen County dangerous?"
"It's very dangerous. Biao Lu is leading an army of 20,000 to attack urgently! Tianmen City is surrounded tightly. I fought desperately to get out and report to Lord Ye."
"Okay, let me read the letter."
Ye Kun nodded and went to look at the cloth.
It really looks like the writing of Shangguan Jifu, and it is stamped with the seal of the county magistrate.
It was said that Lu Biao attacked too hastily and Tianmen City could not withstand it, so Ye Kun led a large army to attack Lu Biao from the rear.
Ye Kun read the letter and asked slowly, "What is the situation in the city?"
The messenger replied, "The situation in the city is serious. The fourth master is worried that the old subordinates of the eldest master will cause chaos, so he arrested many people, including the chief clerk Wen Qi."
"Since Tianmen City is in danger, I have no choice but to save it."
Ye Kun nodded and told the messenger Zhong Shan: "You take a rest. I will call up the troops this afternoon and we will set out at dusk to rescue Tianmen County. We can reach Tianmen City in just one day and one night with light cavalry!"
Zhong Shan kowtowed repeatedly: "The situation is urgent, please send troops quickly!"
"I understand. Wait for me to call a meeting of all the generals!"
Ye Kun nodded and invited everyone to enter the temporary command post under the city.
Zhong Shan was taken aside, bathed, changed clothes, and given food and wine.
Huangfu Lin read the letter, frowned and said:
"Master Ye, this is indeed the handwriting of our Fourth Young Master, and the seal on it is also real. Is Tianmen City really in danger? But I don't know this messenger, Zhong Shan!"
Ye Kun laughed loudly: "This man must have been sent by Biao Lu. He tried to trick me and annihilate Shangguan Jifu and me. Even a child can't hide such a plot. Biao Lu's death is near!"
Qin Erwu frowned: "Brother, how do you know it was a spy sent by Biao Lu?"
Ye Kun nodded and analyzed:
"One of the doubts is that the Lu Biao army only has 20,000 soldiers, but the Tianmen City has more than 10,000 soldiers guarding it, and there are 2,000 to 3,000 naval forces on the river bank. Shangguan Jifu is strict in military discipline and has a good command of the troops. With the help of the solidity of the city, he would never be so weak and come to ask for help after being attacked by the Lu Biao.
The second doubt is that Shangguan Jifu and I are like brothers, and he would never order me to send troops within a limited time in a commanding tone.
The third doubt is, I know all of Shangguan Jifu’s personal soldiers, so why did they send an unfamiliar person to deliver the letter?
Suspicion 4: Wen Qi has taken Shangguan Feiyan, and we have tied him tightly to us. He will never betray us."
Huangfu Lin smiled and said, "Master Ye's analysis is very reasonable. But what about this letter and the seal?"
Ye Kun read the letter again and again:
"The handwriting must have been imitated, because the seal script of the Great Ding Kingdom does not have many personal characteristics. As for the seal, it may also be a carrot seal. The third son of Shangguan escaped and had official documents with seals on him. It is not difficult to imitate a seal."
Qin Erwu shouted, "Brother, don't analyze it. Wait until I catch that guy and beat him up, and then we'll know if he's a spy or not!"