Chapter 166 Siege Weapons and the Southern Kingdom
The sun was scorching hot. Hulot wore a light robe and walked through the walkway to dry clothes, heading for the north gate of the wooden castle. Bertard put on his leather armor again, summoned Coles and other guards, and followed His Highness closely.
Along the way, the warriors saluted one after another and shouted "Your Highness" and "Holy Eagle Warrior Commander".
The area of the wooden fort was limited, so the young commander set up a new camp outside the north gate for the research and development of siege equipment and as a support for defense. When he entered the camp, the busy craftsmen saluted and displayed the latest products in sequence.
progress.
The height of the light trebuchet is about two and a half meters, and the rotating gun tip is shortened accordingly. Its base is a triangular stable bracket, with a base width of less than two meters and a base length of just over two meters. Generally speaking, it is a human-powered trebuchet.
It is a scaled-down version of the first model, and its overall weight is only one-fourth or one-fifth of the original. Therefore, it can be carried and carried by several civilians, and can also be easily loaded onto a large boat and transported to the other side of the Leman River.
Hulot stood quietly and watched. The craftsmen quickly fixed the light trebuchet on the ground, which took less than a quarter of an hour. Then, they installed a paper ball the size of a pumpkin on the magazine pouch on the long shaft of the gun tip, and filled it with ten kilograms of sand.
Then, six or seven gunners took their positions, holding the rope connecting the short shaft with both hands, and looked at His Highness not far away.
His Highness waved his hand and gave an order. The gunners shouted in unison and pulled hard. The top of the cannon tip rose, and the paper ball reached a height of four meters in an instant, and then was thrown out at a slight angle, crossing a pull.
The long parabola falls outside the one hundred and twenty step mark.
Shulot went over to check it personally, remembered the landing point of the paper ball, and then ordered everyone to continue. The paper ball weighing more than ten kilograms drew a series of changing arcs, and the range was stable at 110 to 140 steps.
In the meantime, the young commander thought for a while, then used a wooden stick to draw a parabola on the ground to calculate the flying height of the paper ball.
After a moment, Shulot wiped away the drawings on the soil with his foot and nodded with slight satisfaction. As long as the light trebuchet is approached within ninety steps of the city wall, the paper fireball can be thrown to the six-meter city wall. In this
At such a distance, as long as the operator wears strong leather armor and a helmet, the enemy's slinging bows and arrows will not be able to cause serious damage. The only problem is that the accuracy cannot be grasped, and the landing point depends entirely on God's blessing.
The young commander praised a few words and ordered the craftsmen to speed up the production. He then looked at the light shield vehicle.
The front end of the light shield cart is a thick wooden board used as a shield, the middle is a small wooden platform for archers to stand and shoot, the rear end is a long wooden handle for people to push, and the bottom is two simple wooden wheels. The large wooden shield at the front end is thick
It is as long as one finger, about two meters wide, and about one person in height. There are three shooting holes on the upper part of the wooden shield, which can protect three longbow warriors from shooting at the same time. There are four long wooden handles, and the two people are half-hunched.
, can push the manned shield vehicle forward.
Overall, this light shield cart is just a two-wheeled cart for loading shields.
The shield car is a long-standing siege weapon. Even a hundred years later, the heavy shield car can still perform well in the face of light artillery fire. The Tarascans do not have heavy crossbows or firearms, and light
The front end of the shield vehicle does not need to be reinforced with leather or metal, nor does it need to be filled with bulletproof soil.
Shulot took out his longbow and shot several times from forty steps away. Then, he carefully checked the depth of the arrow's penetration into the wood and nodded.
"Make shield vehicles in large quantities. The shields do not need to be so thick and can be simplified a little. I will send a group of captured civilians over and build at least two hundred vehicles within a month!"
Hearing this, the leader of the craftsmen knelt down and nodded in agreement.
Shulot took one last look at the imitation water gate. The wooden water gate was only half completed, and the thickness was thickened according to the universal shape. He first asked the samurai to chop it with a copper ax from the front, and a dull "duh" sound was heard for a long time.
Finally, the young man shook his head slightly. Then, he asked the warriors to take out stone chisels and stone hammers to destroy key nodes. He counted the time in his mind, but kept shaking his head.
The young commander thought for a moment, then called the gunpowder manager and gave some instructions. Soon, the gunpowder craftsmen fetched hundreds of kilograms of well-preserved gunpowder, sealed and packed it by the water gate, carefully ignited the long fuse, and quickly ran away.
A long moment passed, and under the tense attention of everyone, there was a sudden "loud" explosion, and pieces of wood and soil flew into pieces. Raging flames rose from the burst water gate, and black smoke spread all over the sky.
.A heat wave swept over, carrying a pungent smell, and everyone had to step back and stay away. The explosive burning lasted for a full quarter of an hour, and then the fire gradually became smaller.
After another two quarters of an hour, Shulot called five brave warriors and asked them to wear water-soaked cotton armor and come forward with huge stone hammers. A loud "bang" sound was accompanied by a "crackling" break.
With a loud sound, the burning wooden door suddenly broke completely, and then shattered to pieces.
Seeing this, Shulot laughed loudly. He watched the charred wood pieces flying and the sparks scattering, and finally felt a little sure in his heart! Behind him, Bertard also showed a happy smile.
The five warriors immediately reported back. Their faces were completely blackened by the smoke, and even their hair was burned off by the flames. The young commander praised him loudly for a few words, and then asked the warriors to go to the wooden castle in the south to rest. Then, he turned around and saw
Toward the south bank of the river mouth fortress, my thoughts wandered into the distance.
"There are still two weeks left for the naval division to return, bringing reinforcements and food, as well as the latest information about the capital. The South Route Army must have gone on an expedition. I don't know what the situation is now..."
Shulot's gaze went all the way south, across the mighty Leman River, across the unknown lake area, to the center of the Southern Kingdom.
The golden sun shone from the sky, and Lake Patzcuaro was glowing with brilliant waves. On the beautiful lake, hundreds of canoes came from villages all over the lake area, continuously transporting collected food and militia.
Then, the huge group of boats was divided into two teams, one heading north and one heading south.
The sun fell on people's faces, illuminating different looks. The Tarasco warriors in charge of the management loudly rebuked and urged the sailors and militiamen to speed up their actions, with a serious and indifferent expression. After hearing the order, the sailors rowing the oars vigorously,
Their faces were full of unconcealable exhaustion. They had been recruited by the kingdom and had been busy for a whole month, transporting tens of thousands of troops and accompanying food and supplies.
The militiamen on the ship held the newly issued bronze spears, their faces full of uneasiness about the unknown war and worries about the future of the village. The kingdom issued a strict recruitment order, and the lake areas near the capital were urgently mobilized. They
He had no choice but to abandon the fields that had just been sown, follow the fierce warriors, and board a boat heading to an unknown destination.
"Tell me, where are we going to fight? When can we go home?" The turbaned Vezti asked in a low voice while the supervising warriors were not paying attention.
On the rocking boat, the young militiamen all looked confused. Chihuaco, an old militiaman in his forties, took out the yellowed cloth bag and inhaled the aroma of the herbs deeply with his nose, with a satisfied smile on his face.
.Immediately, his expression became calm and he answered in the same low voice.
"We go to the north to fight against the Mexica division. There are not many enemies there, and the stone fortress is very hard, which is stronger than going to the south. As for coming back, it will probably take a year at the earliest!"
"One year?!" Weezti, who was wearing a turban, screamed, attracting the fierce gaze of the supervising warrior. All the militiamen lowered their heads and shut up at the same time, like obedient turkeys. After a while, the warrior's gaze shifted, and Weezti
Ticai spoke in a low voice again.
"In more than a month, the pumpkins will be harvested, and there will be corn and beans later. The women and children at home alone can't do it. Are we really going to be away for a year this time?"
Chihuaco, the old militiaman, sneered and took another breath of the herb before speaking slowly.
"Are you still thinking about the fields and harvests at home? Survive first! Militiamen like us are just firewood on the battlefield. The warriors don't care about the life and death of the militiamen. They will only treat those who are most likely to die by us.
Place. If you are captured by the cruel Mexica jaguar, you will have your chest cut open and sacrificed to the gods!"
The young militiamen shuddered when they heard the name Mexican Jaguar. Those terrifying figures wearing animal helmets and yellow leather armor have been circulated in the kingdom for a long time, and their image is equivalent to the legendary evil spirits in the volcanoes of the west.
After a while, Weziti asked in a trembling voice.
"We have the protection of the Sun God, the Earth Mother Goddess and the Moon Goddess! We should be able to win this battle, right?"
Many young militiamen looked at Chihuaco. He was the only old militiaman in the village who survived the previous war.
Chihuaco sighed and carefully put away the herbal bag in his hand. This was his treasure. It could keep him calm in the battlefield and find the most suitable escape route. The old militiaman stood up and looked at the huge ships in the north and south.
Team, looked at the clearing sky again, and sighed deeply.
"Alas! Not long after the pumpkins were planted, the gentlemen mobilized so many militiamen that they couldn't even take care of this year's harvest. If you look at the expressions of these warriors, they look as if they are about to die. This battle, I think
Hang!"
The sighs of the militiamen dispersed into the wind, and their voices gradually became inaudible. The breeze never stopped, it drifted past the busy Lake Patzcuaro, and entered the rich and solid copper city of Qinconcan. It blew past thousands of craftsmen making weapons.
, passing through thousands of warriors holding bronze axes, and then passing through hundreds of nobles talking in low voices, we finally arrived at the religious center of the city, the magnificent circular pyramid, the "House of the Wind" Acarta.
The five round Yakata pyramids are each tens of meters high. They are made of granite of different sizes and bonded with corn mortar. They look like a sacred mountain standing on earth. The five pyramids are arranged roughly in a keyhole shape.
The back end of them is a stepped pyramid platform, connected by stone steps to facilitate the priests to move back and forth.
These platforms extend and converge to form a simple and solemn large platform. A composite stone longhouse is built above and below the large platform, which is the sanctuary where the priests of the kingdom live.
There is a core stone pile in the center of each pyramid, and then the outer layer is thickened layer by layer. The outermost layer is decorated with different stone slabs such as spiral, circular, and square, and the stone slabs are carved with exquisite murals of gods. The pyramids
The upper end is painted with the symbols of different gods, surrounded by bright patterns, paying tribute to the five gods who rule the world.
The three yaka towers in the center are the tallest and most gorgeous. Together with the base of the mound, they are forty to fifty meters high, symbolizing the thrones of the three main gods in the world. They respectively represent the supreme and bright sun god Kurikaveri.
, the benevolent and protective Earth Mother Goddess Kweravaperi, and the Moon Goddess Haratana who controls life and death.
Above the Yakata, there are temples dedicated to the gods, as well as statues made of pure gold, which are similar to the large temples in the capital city of the lake. But different from the large temples, these temples contain many statues of former kings and nobles.
Relics and even partially dried remains are like tombs on the ground, praying for eternal life after death. This is somewhat similar to ancient Egypt.
At this moment, huge bonfires are lit in front of the five temples on Yakata. The blazing sacred fire lasts day and night, and these flames can be seen in the ninety-one towns and villages in the Patzcuaro Lake District, which represents
The highest war mobilization!
Under the magnificent temple, hundreds of priests of all levels are busy in front of the circular pyramid, building a solemn altar. They will hold a large-scale prayer ceremony, use captured Mexica sacrifices, and pray to the public.
God seeks divine prophecies and prays for victory in the war.
Near the sacred "House of Winds" Acatas is the lofty royal palace, the "Palace of Winds" Acatas built on the hills. Acatas is several stories high and is surrounded by more than a dozen connected stone buildings.
Buildings. Loyal royal warriors are stationed in these stone buildings, and tributes from various city-states are also stored. There is also a trophy cabin on the outermost side, which stores the heads of enemies killed in the battle and the side weapons of these brave opponents. In the corner of the cabin
In the middle, several black daggers flashed with cold light.
From a distance, the Palace of Winds, which symbolizes royal power, has been expanded many times and is now the same height as the House of Winds, which symbolizes divine power. On the viewing platform in front of the palace, King Suangua of Tarasco is wearing a
Wearing yellow attire, wearing a heavy feather crown, and surrounded by gold and bronze ornaments, he is like a messenger of the gods in the human world.
The supreme king lowered his head slightly, his eyes flashing with thought. He did not pay attention to the priests' soothing prayers, but looked solemnly at the several Mexica longbows in front of him and the matching copper arrows scattered on the ground.
These astonishingly powerful weapons were captured from both the northern and southern battlefields. They were like messengers of the Moon Goddess, allowing the heroic kingdom warriors to die easily!
