Crossing the Unknown Country

Chapter 316: Trebuchet with Large Ice Blocks

The generals brainstormed and suggested freezing the water into half ice blocks, that is, water in the middle and ice on the surface, so that it can be put on the trebuchet and sent to a distant place where it will fall to the ground and become water. This solved the problem of transporting water at once. Now there is technology to make ice with saltpeter, and every wealthy family has its own ice cellar.

General Wang An immediately ordered all the families in the city who had ice cellars to start making some semi-ice blocks, ready to be launched tomorrow to turn the land outside the city into a swamp wetland.

Wang Xiaohu was ordered to find someone to make the trebuchet overnight. Su He added a spring when drawing the blueprint. All the carpenters in the city were busy, and the blacksmiths also had to make arrangements. All of Wang Xiaohu's men were sent out to ensure that it was completed on time tomorrow.

The Dongjie military camp was also busy day and night. Because it needed to be built very high, the base had to be very large. They didn't have that many carpenters, so they could only send some of the more skillful soldiers to do the work.

After all, they were nomads, and were relatively unfamiliar with these tasks. They could only try as they went along, and even when they reached the top, it was still trembling and swaying back and forth on all sides. They had no choice but to keep reinforcing it. The first high pavilion made in this way was huge in size and heavy.

The main thing is that a lot of soldiers have to keep climbing up, and safety must be guaranteed, otherwise they will fall apart before they reach Fenggou City.

They were still building other towers, at least ten more were needed. If they only broke through one place in such a long wall, they would be besieged. Only by attacking the city at multiple locations at the same time could the defenders be unable to take care of others and leave them a chance.

The next day at noon, Wang Xiaohu, who had not slept all night, looked at the eight trebuchets with red eyes and was very excited. He had tested it and found that the stones could be thrown far away, much farther than their previous manual trebuchets, and the accuracy was quite good.

Of course, we will continue to make catapults that are enlarged in the same proportion, so that their power will be greatly magnified and can attack enemies farther away.

He had the catapults transported to the city wall and reported to General Wang An that the catapults were ready. Large blocks of ice were also delivered one after another. Looking at the carts of large blocks of ice, they imagined the muddy ground outside the city.

Everyone was very smart. They first used saltpeter to freeze the igloo, and then made half ice blocks on the side, which saved a lot of saltpeter. Now the shops selling saltpeter were out of stock, and everyone did not hesitate to protect their homes.

Fortunately, the roads leading to the city behind were unobstructed, and merchants began to transport saltpeter here. General Wang An had already ordered that the more ice the better, and frozen ice could be used as stone.

Another strategist thought of an even more radical method, which was to freeze it into sharp corners and throw it out. It could be used as a stone and could also stab the enemy, thus instantly turning it into a powerful weapon.

The enemy cannot reuse this weapon. Once it encounters temperature, it will turn into water and become useless. When it falls to the ground and turns into water, it can also cause trouble to the enemy.

This is the wisdom of the ancients. They just didn’t realize that as long as there are ideas, everyone’s solutions will be endless.

After all preparations were made, General Wang An came to the city wall, wanting to see the true power of the catapult.

A group of generals followed him to the city wall. The general gave an order, and the big ice blocks flew to the distance he specified. After the big ice blocks landed, they broke into pieces. As the ice blocks were thrown out, they gradually formed a large piece of mud.

The Dongjie Army's barracks also discovered the situation here. After sending people to investigate, they also thought that if the ground was not solid, how could the Gaoge be transported to the foot of the city? Even if it was at the foot of the city, it would not be stable, so how could they talk about attacking the city?