If there is any way to protect the supply line under the current conditions, it is to use one thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry as before.
But the cost of protecting the supply line was too high. Each team had 3,000 men, and the infantry speed was fifty miles per day. At least seven teams must be set up for a two-hundred-kilometer supply line to ensure that the target reinforcements could be reached within one day.
Each team has 3,000 people, so seven teams have more than 20,000 people.
Shen Bing's troops totaled only more than 10,000... which meant that they could not even protect the supply line, let alone attack.
The cavalry can travel hundreds of miles a day, and it takes one day to reach the target for reinforcements covering a distance of 200 kilometers. It only needs to set up three protection points in the middle, thus saving a lot of troops.
Therefore, there is no problem for the cavalry to complete this task, and it must be completed by the cavalry.
The problem was that the cavalry was no match for the Hun cavalry.
If there is any benefit to Ying Zheng's order to attack Jiuyuan, it is that it can provide Shen Bing with the various ores he needs...
Jiuyuan is the modern Baotou. It is known as the "Prairie Steel City" and is rich in various metal and non-metal mineral deposits.
There has been no news about the prospecting over there in Bo, I am afraid that no mine has been found.
If we can capture Jiuyuan... knowing that there is a mine there, it would be much easier for Bo and others to search for it.
Then Shen Bing will not need to rely on ores from outside the North. It will be self-sufficient like food, which is the basis for dealing with Zhao Gao and Li Si.
After thinking for a long time, Shen Bing finally made up his mind and said to Ren:
"Send a message to Meng Liang, asking him to immediately purchase saltpeter and sulfur from everywhere. The more the better!"
To be precise, it should be Xiaoshi... In ancient times, "nitrate" was called "Xiaoshi". Folks used it as a medicinal material, thinking that it could cure more than ten kinds of diseases. This is also the reason why alchemists added "Xiaoshi" when making elixirs.
Ren agreed and went to deliver the order.
Fusu looked confused when he heard this and asked:
"Dissolve the stone? What is the use of the general to eliminate the stone?"
Did Shen elaborate? He just replied:
"Young Master will know when the time comes!"
This cannot be explained, because there is no such thing as gunpowder in the world, and it cannot be explained. You can only understand it by seeing it with your own eyes.
In fact, it cannot be said that there was no gunpowder at this time. In fact, Chinese alchemists discovered gunpowder during the Spring and Autumn Period. However, alchemists generally believed that the explosion of gunpowder in the furnace was a failure in alchemy... They would only feel disappointed and frustrated by the by-product of this failure. , completely unaware that this by-product is actually more precious and more practical than their so-called elixir.
Therefore, although gunpowder existed, it was never taken seriously and was naturally not recorded. It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that it was "officially" invented.
Shen Bing has always maintained a cautious attitude towards this.
The reason is the same as caution in inventing saddles and stirrups.
Saddles and stirrups were more beneficial to the Huns' cavalry, but gunpowder was developed in the West.
If we count from the Spring and Autumn Period, gunpowder appeared in China and spread to the West at least seven or eight hundred years earlier. However, the use of gunpowder in China has always remained at a very primitive stage, while in the West, standard muskets and artillery... …
If gunpowder is introduced too early, will it mean that the West will rise earlier?
Shen Bing did not dare to easily invent something that would have a major impact on history and the world and even turn cold weapons into hot weapons for war.
At this time, the Northern Army was unable to deal with the Huns cavalry, so Shen Bing had no choice but to consider making them.
The production of gunpowder is actually very simple. The main body is gunpowder, supplemented by sulfur and charcoal powder.
The power is determined by the optimal ratio and purity of the stone.
This is like the ratio of copper to tin in bronze. If you don't know the exact ratio, you can only try again and again.
Modern black powder is basically made up of three-quarters of it.
In order to deceive others or "gradually upgrade" to maintain technological advantages, Shen Bing deliberately lowered the proportion of waste stone and set it to one-half.
Shen Bing even pretended to come up with three formulas:
One is sulfur, wohuang, Xiaoshi, Ma Ru, Zhu Ru, clear oil and other more than ten kinds of raw materials, some of which are combustibles that Shen Bing added at will.
The reason is that on the one hand, there is no need for too powerful gunpowder at this time, and on the other hand, it is to try to stun the people who steal it, so that they cannot determine which ingredients are the most important and can increase the power most.
The second is to add dry paint, tung oil, and rosin.
The third way is to add pineapple, turtle, etc.
It goes without saying what their functions are. The first one is mainly to explode, the second one is to burn, and the third one is to produce poisonous smoke.
Of course, Shen Bing consciously did not use lethal poison, otherwise he would have added arsenic.
But it doesn’t seem to make any difference whether to use deadly poison or not... Is there a big difference between killing the enemy after being stunned and poisoning him directly?
After the gunpowder was made, Shen Bing gave it a try. He took a handful and put it away from the gunpowder, then lit it over an open flame... it burned violently with a "chi" sound and then turned into a puff of green smoke.
This shocked Fusu, Wang Bi and others.
Fusu was surprised:
"General, what is this?"
Shen Bing replied:
"gunpowder."
Fu Su, Wang Bi and others looked at each other in confusion. It looked like Shen Bing had known about gunpowder for a long time, but they had never seen or heard of it.
After a long while, Wei Wei asked:
"General, what is the use of this thing?"
Shen Bing stood up and clapped his hands and replied:
"Make weapons to restrain the Huns cavalry!"
Wang Ben and others were even more confused when they heard this. This thing can also be used to make weapons?
The first thing Shen Bing made from gunpowder was the "Thunderbolt Fireball".
This thing appeared in the Song Dynasty, and it is recorded in "Wu Jing Zong Yao":
A bamboo tube about one and a half inches thick is wrapped with gunpowder, broken porcelain pieces, iron sheets, etc. to make a sphere. There are about an inch long tube ends at each end of the ball. One end is used as a handle, and the other end is filled with igniting powder and twisting powder. The sound was like a thunderbolt and like a rolling fireball, so it was called "Thunderbolt Fireball".
Shen Bing loaded it with caltrops... Yunzhong County can already produce iron in batches, and caltrops can also be made in large quantities. Using iron pieces or broken porcelain pieces will not only be more troublesome, but also have the problem of insufficient lethality.
Another improvement is that the "Thunderbolt Fireball" is double-headed, while the one made by Shen Bing is single-headed.
Simply put, the one made by Shen Bing is more like a modern "hand grenade"... The "Thunderbolt Fireball" handle and fuse are on different sides, so the space is larger, it is inconvenient to ignite, and it cannot be thrown far.
The production is also very simple. First pull the fuse, then mix a dozen caltrops with gunpowder, wrap it with linen on the bamboo handle and tie it tightly, and a primitive hand grenade is made.
Shen Bing tried using it, and the fuse was thrown out as soon as it clicked. There was only a "boom" sound, and the two straw men were instantly blown up into the sky. During this period, the exploded iron caltrops were flying "whooshing" everywhere. .
This scene only frightened Fusu and others to look pale but excited, and it took a long time before they burst into cheers.