Chapter 185 Sir, times have changed

Yanzhou, Chenliu.

A large army gathered outside the city, with flags covering the sky and fluttering in the wind.

At this moment, the houses outside the city were all demolished and burned, leaving only ruins. Not only that, the residents were also forcibly driven into the city, and all the food and other supplies were looted.

Wang Jing revisited the place and took a quick look. He found that the Xuanjun Temple he saw when he left Chenliu was now only in ruins, and even the roof had been blown off.

"Fortify the walls and clear the fields? That's a good tactic."

Guo Jia stood on the left side of Wang Jing, his eyes calm, and analyzed from the perspective of a military advisor: "Zhang Mengzhuo is probably afraid that our army will drive the people to attack the city, or he wants to cut off the possibility of our army getting supplies locally. Alas, it's just hard for the local people. Their houses have been damaged, and their food has been forcibly requisitioned. The winter must be difficult."

He was born in a poor family. Although his family was well off, he had been accustomed to the hardships of life since he was a child and understood the living conditions of the lower-class people best.

These people, whose food rations were taken away and whose houses were burned down, will not receive any compensation afterwards. Their lifelong struggles may have been burned to ashes, and only endless suffering awaits them in the future.

But this is war, this is a time of chaos, and no matter the rise and fall of dynasties, the common people at the bottom will always be the ones who suffer and be sacrificed.

Zhang Fei's eyes widened, obviously he was very dissatisfied with Zhang Miao's behavior, and he cursed: "What kind of Yanzhou celebrity is this? Don't you know that our army never harms the people?"

Wang Jing was extremely strict in controlling his subordinates and set an example himself. In addition, the military pay was sufficient, so the soldiers under his command basically treated the people without harming them. Wherever he went, he was welcomed by the people.

Of course, the main reason was that Wang Jing revitalized industry and commerce. He owned ranches, salt mines, silk weaving, wool textiles, Qiqiao Pavilion and other industries. He was not short of money, so he was able to feed a group of arrogant and powerful generals under his command and did not need to maintain morale by looting.

This point alone is enough to defeat any other prince of the same era.

Ultimately, it is the economic base that determines the superstructure. War is the continuation of politics, and economy is the underlying color of politics.

In the eyes of other princes, the common people were just leeks. They were only needed to cultivate the land and produce food, and provide population to supplement the military force, so the harvesting was simple and crude.

In Wang Jing's eyes, although the common people are also leeks, the efficiency of simple and crude harvesting is very low. Instead, he should open factories, recruit refugees to tighten screws, make the common people rich, and finally give birth to a mature consumer market, thereby promoting the continuous upgrading of the industry.

Compared with direct harvesting, this "intensive farming" method obviously has higher returns.

Because for Wang Jing, population and food are not everything; the development of industrial system and science and technology are the core.

In comparison, Wang Jing viewed the other princes as mere barbarians of the feudal era.

Even Liu Bei, who was known for his benevolence and righteousness, had a record of condoning his subordinates to looting. Liu Yu, who did not rob himself, condoned the looting of the Wuhuan people and did not take any action. He pursued a policy of appeasement towards other ethnic groups. He was a typical spineless civil servant.

Although Wang Jing was born into the Wang family of Taiyuan, a top family in the imperial dynasty, deep down he still stood on the side of the people. Therefore, he not only implemented various policies to benefit the people, but was also approachable and without airs.

After spending several days together, even Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were convinced of Wang Jing's character and ambition, so they began to slowly integrate into the Northern Army's system.

After all, Liu Bei kept shouting about supporting the Han Dynasty, but in reality it was just slogans and his actual actions were terrible.

However, the people under Wang Jing's rule had begun to live a good life, even better than during the prosperous period of the Yan and Han Dynasties. Every household had enough food and warm clothing, and even the livelihood problems of the refugees had been well solved.

On a high slope three miles outside Chenliu City, Guan Yu, dressed in green and wearing dragon-scale blue cloud armor, rode on a majestic and famous horse. With sharp eyes, he looked at the wall of Chenliu City from afar: "This is a tough nut to crack."

The wall of Chenliu City is only three meters high and is made of stone bricks. The narrow joints are glued with glutinous rice mortar. This ancient concrete made of a mixture of glutinous rice, slaked lime and egg white becomes extremely tough after cooling and drying in the shade.

Compared with the more than ten feet high rammed earth wall in Suanzao County, the city wall of Chenliu can be described as tall and magnificent, and it is definitely not something that can be easily climbed with an ordinary ladder.

It is extremely difficult to break through such a hard turtle shell head-on.

Guo Jia looked solemn. "If we are too eager to capture such a strong city, our army will suffer heavy losses. And I heard that there are a lot of food and grass stored in the city. It is meaningless to simply besiege it. It seems that we can only attack by force. I hope we can capture Chenliu before Cao Cao takes Yanzhou."

Xun You also said, "There is also a Five Sacrifices Refining God Array in the city, which can invite the Five Elements Gods to help prevent experts from raiding the city. Unless you attack head-on and destroy the center of the array, there is nothing you can do."

The Eastern Han Dynasty was founded on the study of prophecies and divinations. All major provinces and cities in the world had large spirit-refining formations that could consume the power of thought at critical moments and invite assistance from the gods.

The Five Sacrifices Spirit Refining Method is one of the three major schools of spirit refining in the study of prophecies and divinations, and it follows the "Chapter on Honoring the Five Sacrifices".

The five sacrifices refer to the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth.

Wood is ruled by Ju Mang, Fire is ruled by Zhu Rong, Metal is ruled by Ru Shou, Water is ruled by Xuan Ming, and Earth is ruled by Hou Tu. These are all ancient sages who were able to govern the five elements and made contributions. They are the gods of their worship. Any city with a population base of more than 100,000 will choose a god to worship in the city according to its own environment and customs to suppress the fate.

Both Guo Jia and Xun You were from Yanzhou, so they knew something about Chenliu.

The two had also deduced the time needed to attack the city, and both believed that it would take at least half a year of blockade and siege, otherwise it would be difficult to capture such a strong city with the protection of a righteous god.

After listening to Guo Jia and Xun You's analysis, Wang Jing shook his head: "Half a year is too long."

Xun You was stunned: "My lord, this is already the best estimate. If the war goes against us, I am afraid it will take a year to capture Chenliu."

Guo Jia also advised Wang Jing not to be too impatient: "In fact, it is not easy for Cao Cao's army to pacify Qingzhou and the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans. It is impossible to achieve results within a year. Why should you rush for success? You must know that attacking the city is the first step. Once the troops are seriously damaged, it will be detrimental to the subsequent expedition plan."

Wang Jing smiled calmly at Guo Jia and Xun You: "I understand your concerns, but we must win this battle quickly, otherwise the consumption of food and grass will be too serious."

With 40,000 troops on the march, the amount of food consumed every day was an astronomical figure.

Ace troops like the Bingzhou Armored Warriors and the Feiyu Archers are good at fighting, but they also eat a lot. They are all big bellies, and many of them are real "gluttons" - they really use buckets to eat!
Wang Jing also needed to leave enough food to deal with more emergencies, so it was impossible for him to adopt a siege strategy, let alone delay for half a year to take Chenliu.

Guo Jia and Xun You were puzzled: "My lord, please do not be impulsive. If you force a quick victory, the casualties of the troops will be heavy. The loss will actually be greater."

"Don't worry, Fengxiao. I have no intention of attacking head-on, and I will not sacrifice the lives of my Northern Army soldiers to achieve victory. I have special skills in attacking cities."

Wang Jing's words left everyone confused.

What the hell is the special technique?

There have only been a few siege tactics since ancient times. Can you let the soldiers fly in with wings?
However, a few days later, the question that had puzzled Guo Jia and Xun You finally had an answer. Under the command of Wang Jing, a special force arrived at the battlefield.

The soldiers of this unit were not equipped with any weapons or armor. They wore cloth and were neither tall nor strong. The only thing that made them different from the others was that their eyes were calm and composed, and their temperament was out of tune with the ordinary soldiers around them.

"Zhengliang, I have been looking forward to seeing you for so long that you are finally here."

"Meet the master."

Lu Fang bowed to Wang Jing respectfully.

Behind him was the newly formed Shenjiying, a special force that did not engage in frontal combat but specialized in using mechanical devices to participate in combat.

Lu Fang, Wang Jing's chief steward, with his profound attainments in Mohist mechanical engineering, naturally became the first commander of the Shenji Camp.

"Did you bring everything?"

"A total of twenty-two stone cannons have arrived. Do you want to start assembling them now?"

Wang Jing was overjoyed when he heard this, his eyes lit up, and he immediately ordered: "Assemble it immediately. It's time to open the eyes of the world and let them understand that times have changed."

"Yes!"

Lu Fang was also excited. The feeling of leading the change of the times by himself made him extremely excited, as if he was standing on the crest of the tide of the times and became a trend-setter. And the Mohist school he believed in would surely return to the stage of history through this battle, announcing its own return as the king!
In the Shenji Camp, a large number of Momen disciples began to unload the giant stone cannon components from the carriage, and then assembled them in an open space three hundred meters away from the city wall.

Such a blatant action naturally attracts attention.

Guo Jia, Xun You, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xu Huang and others all came to watch the fun.

Zhang Fei was a rough and straightforward man. He immediately grabbed Guo Jia, the new military advisor, and kept asking him questions: "What is this? Why does it look so strange?"

Guo Jia opened his eyes wide and observed for a while before he suspiciously guessed, "It should be some kind of catapult?"

The seven hegemons of the Warring States Period had already used catapults in warfare, but they were machines that were purely driven by human power and were significantly different in shape from the stone cannon.

Therefore, Zhang Fei's eyes widened and he immediately retorted: "Hey, don't talk nonsense, I have read a lot of books, your catapult looks like this?"

Being looked down upon by a reckless man whose brains were full of muscle and whose intelligence was less than 40 years old made Guo Jia very unhappy: "Since you already know everything, why are you still asking me?"

"Hey, aren't you a military advisor? Shouldn't a military advisor be someone who knows everything about astronomy and geography, and knows the past 500 years and the future 500 years?"

Zhang Fei glanced at Guo Jia, as if doubting his intelligence.

Guo Jia was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He rolled his eyes at Zhang Fei and said, "The one you are talking about is the Heavenly Master, not the Military Advisor."

Guan Yu and Xun You couldn't help laughing when they saw the two men bickering. They didn't expect that Guo Jia, a scholar, would be unable to explain himself when he met Zhang Fei.

The Shenji Camp can be said to be the first purely technical military force of the Yanhan Dynasty. Every soldier in the camp is a technical talent who has received primary education at the Moxue Academy in the south of the city and has mastered a certain knowledge of physics.

In the Yanhan Dynasty, where knowledge was scarce and the literacy rate was less than 10%, it could be said that each of these people was a highly educated and highly skilled technical talent. The cost of training them was probably several times higher than that of the heavy cavalry in the Tunqiying. Each of them was a treasure worth thousands of gold.

Guan Yu was a keen observer. He saw that among the crowd, only Xun You looked normal. He then thought to himself and asked, "Gongda, you were in charge of the secret guards. I'm sure no secrets can be hidden from you. So you should know what these things are, right?"

This opening immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Even Zhang Fei stopped arguing with Guo Jia, but looked at Xun You curiously, wanting to know the answer.

Anyway, once the giant stone cannon is put into use on the battlefield, it will no longer be a secret, so Xun You did not hide it. He smiled and explained to everyone: "What is in front of you is part of the research results of the "Heavenly Crafts Project", and it is called the giant stone cannon. As for the specific power of the giant stone cannon, I have only seen it on the blueprints. You can see its actual effect with your own eyes later."

In the open space not far away, the assembly of the giant stone cannon was also declared completed. The towering figure was tall and majestic. Although it was obviously a lifeless machine, it exuded a ferocious beauty, as if it was a ferocious beast that came alive before their eyes.

Lu Fang was very satisfied with his work. He stroked the base made of hardwood and reinforced with Taoist methods with his hands. His thoughts were flying in his mind, as if he had seen the decline of Confucianism and the rise of Mohism.

At the gate of Chenliu, Zhang Miao, who had just received the news, rushed over and asked, "Why did you call me here so urgently? What happened?"

Liu Yi, dressed in military uniform, pointed to the giant stone cannon outside the city with horror on his face and said in an uneasy tone: "Prefect, please look."

Obviously, he was frightened by the enemy's strange movements.

Because of the unknown, there is fear.

Not only was he afraid, most of the soldiers guarding the city also felt deeply uneasy, and many people had an ominous premonition in their hearts.

It's not like they haven't experienced normal siege warfare, but they were unsure about Wang Jing's behavior of surrounding the city without attacking and instead tinkering with a bunch of things that looked like siege equipment.

Liu Yi was at a loss as to what to do and could not make up his mind, so he invited the prefect Zhang Miao to come out and let him say a few words to calm the morale of the troops.

But Zhang Miao didn't know what a giant stone cannon was, and he didn't even know what a catapult was. He looked confused and asked, "What is this? Does anyone know?"

However, his adviser Dong Fang noticed something and stepped forward to whisper, "Sir, I heard that Marquis Qi employed people from the Mohist school, and the Mohist school is good at making mechanical devices. This strange-looking thing must be a kind of catapult that can throw huge rocks. It has existed since the time when the Seven Heroes were fighting for supremacy. It is not uncommon."

These words calmed Liu Yi and the soldiers guarding the city.

Zhang Miao looked at it from a distance and then asked the question in his mind: "This thing is nearly 400 steps away from the city wall. Can the catapult reach so far?"

This made Dong Fang very stumped. He usually studied Confucian classics and the teachings of saints and the principles of governing the country. How far could a catapult be thrown? What the hell did he know?
But as a counselor, you can't be the one who knows nothing when your lord asks you a question, right?
Dong Fang had no choice but to rely on the books he had read to recall the details. He then replied, "As far as I know, the range of a trebuchet is generally within fifty steps. Such a long attack distance is unheard of."

Dong Fang’s explanation made everyone feel completely at ease.

Zhang Miao laughed loudly to boost morale, saying, "Don't panic, everyone. It's just a catapult. Not to mention whether it can hit us, even if it can, how powerful can it be? Chenliu City is impregnable and there is no way it can be breached!"

"Long live the governor!"

"We swear to live and die with Chenliu!"

The soldiers surrounding Zhang Miao began to take sides and express their determination, taking the opportunity to flatter Zhang Miao.

Although they actually knew nothing and were all just bragging, the soldiers under them were no longer panicked and their morale was high.

Until the stone cannon began to test fire...

The stone egg weighing 150 kilograms was thrown into the air by a counterweight weighing 2,000 kilograms using the principle of leverage. It crossed more than 400 steps and landed directly on the watchtower.

Amid the earth-shattering roar, all the laughter, compliments and flattery came to an abrupt end as the watchtower collapsed in an instant.

Rumble~
The smiles of Zhang Miao, Dong Fang, Liu Yi and others froze on their faces.

The collapse of the watchtower raised a large cloud of dust, and broken wood and tiles flew everywhere, causing a large number of secondary casualties.

"It's thundering?"

"What happened?"

"Where did the thunder come from in broad daylight?"

Everyone was in a panic. The sudden ultra-long-distance attack was beyond their imagination and caused their brains to crash at that moment.

It was a long time before someone came to their senses. This time the attack was not caused by lightning, but came from the enemy outside the city!
"It's a direct hit. You did a good job."

Lu Fang was very satisfied with the results of the test firing. Although there was an element of luck in the first attack, even if it was not luck, with the power and shooting accuracy of the stone cannon, it was only a matter of time before the watchtower above the city gate was destroyed.

"After the test firing is over, adjust the design parameters of the remaining aircraft based on the results, and then smash them hard!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the blueprints, everyone studied and trained day and night. Now is the time to test the results, so they are naturally full of enthusiasm.

The Mohist school should rise!

The power of the stone cannon not only shocked the enemy, but also shocked our own people.

Zhang Fei was stunned, his eyes were bigger than a bull's, and he couldn't help but swear: "You call this a catapult?"

(End of this chapter)