Chapter 439 Strategic changes brought about by artillery
Dingtao, the camp of the coalition of princes!
Princess Lei used the power of thunder to march south to the Central Plains. Her offensive was overwhelming. Yuan Shao's three years of preparations were useless in the face of artillery.
Even if there are hundreds of thousands of troops stationed along the Yellow River, they still can't resist Thunder God!
Even the coalition forces cannot break through the cover of the battlefield by the cavalry of the Daqian Army. What is the situation on the front line? They have no idea.
"This bastard Lei Gong, he deceived us, I'm so angry!" Yuan Shao looked at the battle report, thinking that the fortress he spent billions of dollars to build in three years, but it didn't play much role at all, and was drowned in Lei Gong's artillery. , the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He stood up abruptly and used all his strength to overturn the table.
You must know that Lei Gong built a bastion and resisted 100,000 barbarian cavalry with 3,000 men. This record shocked the entire Han Dynasty. Then Dong Zhuo's 100,000 army lost troops and generals under the Taiyuan bastion. For a time, the generals of the entire Han Dynasty began to pay attention to the bastion. Strong defense.
Any general who has carefully studied the bastion facilities will admit that this should be the most powerful defense in the world. Even if there are more than ten times the strength of the troops in future battles, it will be difficult to break the bastion!
Yuan Shao knew that Lei Gong had hundreds of thousands of horsemen, and he could not compete with the large army in the field! Bastion became Yuan Shao's only choice. In order to protect the Central Plains, Yuan Shao built hundreds of forts in three years, completely destroying the entire Central Plains fortress. change.
But through this attack, it is obvious that in the face of Lei Gong's artillery, the role of the bastion is not much different from that of an ordinary city. If Yuan Shao had used the money to build the bastion to cast artillery, I am afraid that the artillery in his hands would not be much less than that of Lei Gong. !So Yuan Shao thought that Lei Gong deceived him and made him invest resources in the wrong direction.
Guo Jia approached Cao Cao and whispered: "After my lord returns, we must pay attention to the power of artillery. We do not have to say that we must have as many artillery pieces as Lei Gong, but it cannot be too different, otherwise we will not be able to defend Qingzhou!"
Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said: "Artillery must be made of bronze. There are no copper mines in Qingzhou. Even if we collect all the copper coins in Qingzhou, we won't be able to cast many cannons!"
Guo Jia said anxiously: "We can live without copper coins. At worst, we can barter, but without artillery, we will definitely lose Qingzhou. Money does not have to be made of copper! We can also learn from Lei Gong's printing paper to make money!" "
"Paper!" Cao Cao was shocked! In his opinion, paper is a thing used for writing, and money is completely separate!
But Guo Jiadan said: "What can buy things is money. Lei Gong can use paper to make money, so can we. When I traveled in Hebei, I knew that Lei Gong's paper money was guaranteed by woolen cloth. How much money Lei Gong printed would make money." How many furs and woolen cloths were put in the warehouse? Although Lei Gong must have done some tricks in this, I am sure that Lei Gong must have printed several times more money. But as long as paper money can be exchanged for woolen cloth, everyone will trust paper money."
"Although we don't have woolen cloth, we do have food. As long as the paper money we issue can be exchanged for food, the people will definitely be willing to use it. If we collect the copper coins from the people of Qingzhou, it should be enough to make hundreds of artillery!"
Cao Cao is obviously a little tempted. Such a thing, especially the currency that can be issued several times, is enough for Cao Cao to take the risk!
He thought for a while and said: "After this battle is over, let's go back to Qingzhou!"
And Liu Bei's side was obviously surprised by the power of the artillery!
Jian Yong whispered: "This battle at Xuande looks like it will be a disaster! The power of Lei Gong's artillery has far exceeded our imagination. After we go back, we must find a way to make more. We can't be like Yuan Shao who was defeated by Lei Gong."
artillery suppression!”
Liu Bei nodded, the emergence of artillery has completely changed the battlefield pattern, and we should indeed be prepared.
Just thinking about the money and food needed to cast cannons made Liu Bei troubled. Now that the Han Dynasty has implemented the New Deal, although the imperial court only occupies four states, the food, grass and money collected by these four states alone far exceed that during the Ling Emperor's period.
Even several times more.
But Liu Bei spent more, raising nearly 300,000 troops, of which 100,000 were elite armored troops. The consumption of this army alone was many times that of the Ling Emperor.
In addition, the salary of the officials, the expenses of reclaiming wasteland, building water conservancy facilities, building roads, and building cities are very huge. Moreover, Liu Bei also raised a huge navy in the south. These are all gold-eating beasts.
At this time, the Han Dynasty's finances could not be said to be unable to make ends meet, but it could also be said to be very tight, and casting cannons was a very expensive matter.
Yuan Ji, who was behind Liu Bei, said calmly: "Mr.
When bombarded by artillery pieces, what can the imperial court do to resist?"
Liu Bei was confused when he heard this. The reason why they chose to move the capital to Xiangyang City was because it was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Especially with the natural danger of the Yangtze River, it would be very difficult for a large army to attack Xiangyang City.
.
But now the emergence of naval guns has completely changed this situation. At this time, the Yangtze River not only cannot be a natural danger, but has become a smooth road for the enemy to attack Xiangyang. Lei Gong's fleet can go upstream from the Yangtze River and directly attack Xiangyang City, which makes it more uncomfortable.
It's them.
After staying for a long time, Liu Bei could only smile bitterly and said: "Unless the imperial court moves the capital again, this artillery will have to be cast if not cast!"
Yuan Jidao: "And the number cannot be small. Not only do Xiangyang City need hundreds of artillery pieces, but our navy also needs hundreds of artillery pieces. We also need to cast forts in dangerous areas of the Yangtze River. Otherwise, there will be hundreds of artillery pieces on the Yangtze River."
We cannot defeat the Lei Gong Navy fleet with artillery on the front line. Our strategy of defending the river must defend the Huaihe River will definitely fail completely because of the artillery!"
"After possessing artillery, the strength of Lei Gong's navy has surpassed ours. Warships without artillery can become targets for arrows. If the navy becomes Lei Gong's advantage, all our cities along the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers will be within Lei Gong's attack range.
Inside, so we must keep the naval advantage, otherwise, the entire Jiangnan will be undefendable!"
Liu Bei did not expect that the appearance of artillery would completely change the situation of the war. Now not only Yuan Shao's power was about to collapse, but even the south was in danger. If Lei Gong completely occupied the Central Plains and destroyed Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, the Han Dynasty would not be able to defend its territory in Jiangnan.
Can't live.
Thinking of the terrible consequences of the Battle of the Central Plains, this strengthened Liu Bei's determination to block Lei Gong in the Central Plains.
Instead of having a decisive battle with Lei Gong in Xiangyang, it is better to find a way to block Lei Gong in the Central Plains!