Khalaf led the craftsmen to make twenty trebuchets in two days. The craftsmanship of the trebuchets is not difficult. The real difficulty lies in using these trebuchets to play their due role and value.
These trebuchets were not used for throwing rocks, but for throwing iron barrel bombs.
An iron barrel bomb weighs only between 23 and 25 pounds. It is not easy to throw them hundreds of feet away.
This also includes the production of fuses. Although I have learned how to make fuses, I must accurately grasp the length of the fuse. The bomb cannot explode early or too late. Due to technological limitations,
The fuses burned at different speeds, which gave Khalaf a real headache for a long time.
After a lot of experiments, Khalaf finally mastered the technical essentials of each link, including the arm length and counterweight of the trebuchet, as well as the material and length of the fuse.
His goal was to drop the iron barrel bomb all the way to the foot of the mountain so that the enemy had no chance to set foot on the mountain road.
After many improvements, the trebuchet was finally able to hurl a twenty-pound iron bucket all the way to the entrance of the mountain trail while remaining at a high altitude.
But this is only a theoretical success, and there is often an insurmountable gap between technical theory and practical application.
The first person to discover this gap was not Calaf, but Jarvan Gusta. When he led the soldiers to learn how to use the trebuchet, the problem was quickly exposed.
The soldiers liked this kind of training very much. Using a trebuchet to throw iron barrels down the mountain was much more interesting than collecting boulders and rolling logs.
But their hit rate is very impressive. According to Jiawen's calculations, for every ten iron buckets thrown, at most one will fall at the foot of the mountain, and the rest will all fall on the gravel of the hillside.
Jarvan changed his training strategy and adopted the ancient and effective method of offering a reward.
He placed many haystacks near the mountain pass, and any soldier who could hit the haystacks would be rewarded with a silver coin.
Of course, black powder cannot be used in the training process. As a substitute, iron buckets were filled with stones of the same weight. Although the soldiers did not know why they used trebuchets to throw these iron buckets filled with stones, twenty-pound iron buckets were
It may not be possible to kill an infantryman, but the temptation of silver coins is still very attractive. The soldiers began to practice more focused, but the hit rate did not improve much.
Because this is simply not a problem that practice can solve.
The trebuchet is not a cannon, and its attack accuracy is very limited. As long as the throwing angle changes slightly, after a long parabola, the landing distance of the iron barrel may deviate by dozens of feet.
As an siege party, as long as it hits the city, the attack is considered effective. But as a defender, if the bomb does not fall on the enemy's position, it is equivalent to a waste of gunpowder.
Fortunately, Jarvan and Calaf did not hide the truth. They reported the problem to Reggie in time, allowing Reggie time to respond.
Reggie's response strategy is very simple. Use cement to build long raised obstacles on the mountain road. Simply put, they are speed bumps on the highway.
Considering that there were a large number of cavalry in the enemy army, Reggie appropriately raised the height of the speed bump to slow down the movement of infantry and war horses without being easily noticed. The speed of the people and horses in the front slowed down, while the speed of the people and horses in the rear remained unchanged.
Enemy troops will be congested on the hillside in large numbers, and densely populated areas are perfect places for barrel bombs to demonstrate their power.
With Jarvan's help, Calaf recalculated the effective attack distance of the trebuchet. Under the premise of ensuring a 70% hit rate, the farthest attack distance was about a hundred feet up the mountainside. Jarvan ordered the soldiers to start from here
Build speed bumps, one every twenty feet, all the way to the bottom of the city wall.
Although the hit rate of the iron barrel is guaranteed, and Jiawen also knows that the iron barrel will contain incredibly powerful black powder, he is still uneasy because he has heard of the reputation of the Cambrian Knights.
"There are always knights who can rush to the bottom of the city wall. Their number does not need to be too many. Even if there are only twenty Cambrian Knights, they can break through our city wall. Don't underestimate the combat effectiveness of the Cambrian Knights. Twenty Cambrian Knights
Enough to defeat all the soldiers of the First Army."
It was rare to see Jiawen's fear of the enemy, but he did not expect that Reggie was fully prepared for close combat.
"Look what this is?" Reggie was holding a mini iron bucket in his hand. This iron bucket looked more like a wine glass. There was also a fuse outside the small bucket. This fuse seemed to only be able to burn for a few seconds.
seconds.
"I call this kind of thing a grenade," Reggie said to Jiawen while carefully holding a small iron barrel. "The principle of this thing is similar to that of an iron barrel bomb. Of course, there is only one pound of explosive here, so the power cannot be compared. It can be used
To attack isolated enemies, the effect should be pretty good."
Calaf has been bragging about Reggie's black powder, and Jarvan is always skeptical about this. In his memory, one hundred pounds of Bayer's black powder can blow up a house, but one pound of black powder can blow up a house.
What to do? Can it kill a person? I'm afraid this thing is like a bow and arrow, unable to penetrate the armor of the Cambrian Knight.
"Sir," Jiawen stared at the small bomb in Reggie's hand for a long time, "If I can get your permission, can you let me..."
"Of course, take it, my knight!" Reggie immediately handed the grenade to Jarvan, "Actually, I really want to do an experiment, but the timid Calaf has never dared to do it."
"My lord," Kalaf shook his head desperately, "you want me to take this thing and light the fuse. Even the mountain monster of the Lost Mountain will not do such a vicious thing."
"Watch your tone, Maester Calaf!" Reggie glared at Calaf. This guy was speaking more and more brazenly.
Reggie took Jarvan and Calaf to the beach. Just as Jarvan was about to light the fuse on the grenade, Reggie hurriedly stopped him.
"Don't worry, my knight, I haven't told you how to use it yet," Reggie pointed to the fuse. "The burning time of this fuse is very short. After lighting it, you have to throw the grenade out immediately. Throw it away."
The further away the better, but remember, never throw it into the sea."
"Don't worry, sir." Jiawen was about to light the fuse again, and Reggie shouted again: "Wait a moment, just wait a moment!"
Reggie and Calaf hid fifty feet away, and the two of them covered their ears at the same time.
Jiawen smiled helplessly, lit the fuse with the torch, and then threw the grenade.
The first knight's arm strength was astonishing, and he threw the grenade more than a hundred feet. Because the distance of the throw was too far, the grenade exploded before it hit the ground. Even so, the grenade still shattered a piece of rock and gravel.
The dust and black smoke of gunpowder never dissipated for a long time.
Reggie walked up to Jiawen and said with a smile, "Knight Gusta, what do you think of my weapons?"
Jiawen looked into the distance with a calm expression, seemingly turning a deaf ear to Reggie's words.
"Knight Gusta, did you hear what I said?" Reggie patted Jarvan on the back. Jarvan suddenly turned around, looked at Reggie and said, "Sir, are you not injured?"
"Of course I'm not hurt, I'm so far away," Reggie looked at Jarvan's expression carefully and asked, "Knight Gusta, can you hear me?"
"Sir, it's great that you are not injured. Can all my soldiers get such weapons?"
Although Jiawen tried his best to hide it, Reggie knew in his heart that he couldn't hear any sound at all.
You deserve it, who told you not to block your ears.
"Yes, every soldier will be equipped with grenades."
Seeing Reggie nodding, Jiawen Gusta asked tentatively: "How many such weapons can a soldier get?"
Reggie held out two fingers.
"There are only two?" Jiawen was a little disappointed.
Reggie shook his head.
"Is it... twenty?"
Reggie nodded.
Jiawen smiled: "Sir, I believe that the warriors of Broken Snow City can defeat any enemy."