Fang Jie asked someone to put a deck chair outside the gate of the camp, and he lay on it and basked in the sun with his eyes closed. The weather is already hot, and only the morning sun is the most comfortable. The breeze brought a rare refreshment during the day, and the temperature sprinkled by the rising sun made the skin take a big breath.
It was already the third day in Dali City, and Fang Jie didn't seem to have the intention of attacking the city yet. The generals below would call for battle every day at the hour of o'clock. Fang Xie only said that there was no rush, and the generals didn't know when he planned to start attacking the city. Someone asked Wu Yidao, and Wu Yidao smiled and said that the steamed buns were already in the pot, and they had to wait until they were cooked before taking off the lid.
Everyone still doesn't understand, when did you know
A few war horses came roaring in the distance, and the knight on horseback jumped off before he was far away, and walked quickly to Fang Jieshi. The leader was obviously very different from the Han Chinese, with yellow hair, blue eyes and a high nose bridge, so that his body Wearing Hanfu looks a bit nondescript.
"Master, I have seen it."
The person who came was none other than Andrew who rushed to the camp last night. This Russian native was used to life in the Central Plains, and his Chinese became more and more fluent. He wiped the sweat from his brow with a solemn expression.
"My subordinates have observed the cannons on the city wall. In terms of appearance, they are larger than the ones cast in our workshop, and the barrels are also larger. It is estimated that the range is farther than our cannons. Because they are not in compliance with regulations, the captured shells are our cannons. No, if you want to use the improved shells, the previously cast cannons can’t be used anymore. You have to re-cast the molds, and I’ll take apart the cannons we captured later to see if there’s any difference in structure.”
"What was cast before cannot be wasted."
Fang Jie frowned slightly, he had already thought of such a result, and he felt a little pity in his heart. The most important thing about the power of artillery is its explosive power and range. The artillery made by the Black Flag Army Workshop is not as good as the artillery of the Opru Empire in terms of range. If there is a war in the future, it will definitely be at a disadvantage.
"It's not useful for fighting foreigners, but it can be used for fighting other enemies."
The future enemies, at least in a short period of time, will not be foreigners.
Andrew nodded: "There is no rush to re-shape, I plan to take it apart and see if there is any room for improvement in the artillery of the Opru Empire. If we are in a hurry to finalize the production, the ones we make will always be only Running behind the Opru Empire, if you can think of an improved method before putting it into production, at least you won’t be left behind too much by the enemy. And in our factory, once the mold is finalized, it can’t be changed at will. So in the short term In time... At least within a few years, the artillery of the Opru Empire will be like this, and there will be no major changes."
"After the artillery is formed, the main research direction is the improvement of the shell. Before the shell can be sent farther, what can be done is to maximize the power of the shell."
Andrew said: "It is undeniable that the firearms and equipment of the Opru Empire are more advanced than those of the Principality of Ross. The firearms factory of the Principality of Ross has not been improved for many years. Even under the same power, the difference in range is enough to cause a fatal blow. If the opponent's range is 1,000 meters, and ours is 800 meters, countless lives can be filled in the distance of 200 meters."
"However, if there are only these artillery in Dali City, it will not be enough to stop the army from attacking the city."
Andrew concluded: "The power of the artillery is indeed far greater than that of the catapult, but now the catapult of the Sui Dynasty has reached the pinnacle of manufacturing technology. I have seen the largest catapult in the army, which requires 200 people to operate. , It is enough to send a huge boulder for two or three miles, and this range is almost the same as the artillery of the Opulu Empire, and it is even slightly stronger."
Fang Jie said: "But there are only three such giant catapults in the army."
Such a huge catapult is extremely difficult to manufacture, and it is too large to be transported. It requires two hundred people to complete the operation. It is not an easy task to transport it to the battlefield and install it.
Andrew said: "Three are enough. My subordinates have observed that in order to ensure stability, the artillery on Dali City is fixed, that is to say, it can only be adjusted up and down, and it is difficult to adjust left and right. For defensive infantry warfare The impact of the array is very effective, but it is not enough to accurately strike the enemy. The subordinates will find out the dead angle of the enemy's artillery in a while, and then set up the three giant catapults, which is enough to make the city wall a mess."
Fang Jie nodded: "You can make arrangements. In addition, you can interrogate those foreigners who were captured alive. I will ask people from the Xiao Riding School to assist you. Not only to ask about the manufacturing process of the artillery, but also to ask about the history of the Opulu Empire. It’s not that there’s any plan to send troops to the Central Plains.”
"Subordinates understand!"
Andrew nodded.
"How much do you know about the Opru Empire?"
Fang asked.
In the past, the name of this empire did not make Fang Jie pay so much attention to it, so Fang Jie did not ask Andrew about it. It now appears that this ambitious empire intends to use force on this side of the ocean.
"The subordinates don't know too much."
Andrew thought for a while and said: "The emperor of the Opru Empire is called Peter Lehman, known as Lehman the Great. When he succeeded to the throne, the territory of the Opru Empire was not one-third the size of the Aegean Empire. It is not powerful, and the Opulu Empire can only be regarded as a third-rate country on the continent on the other side of the sea."
"But this man is very intelligent and cold-hearted. According to legend, he succeeded to the throne after poisoning his father and elder brother. The first thing he did after succeeding to the throne was to kill his two younger brothers and his elder brother's family. , and then promoted his cronies to become the most important ministers under him, and in the next few years, he gradually took back the imperial army from those grand dukes and marquises, and then trained them himself."
"On the day of the Lantern Festival... the Lantern Festival is like the Spring Festival in the Central Plains. It is the most peaceful day. According to the usual practice, the Lantern Festival is a day for the emperor to let the people relax and have fun. Wars are not allowed. But Emperor Leman Apparently he didn't have much respect for the Emperor of Heaven. On the day of the Lantern Festival, he fought against the neighboring country. He invaded two hundred miles to the west in one day. Then, taking advantage of the enemy's lack of reaction, he hit the capital of the neighboring country in one go, and then used tricks to lure the neighboring country. The emperor went out of the city to negotiate and killed him."
"It took only two months for him to destroy the neighboring country. Since then, the Opulu Empire has started to invade non-stop. Emperor Leman knew how to use tactics. He formed alliances with distant countries and sent a lot of money and money. The beautiful woman keeps attacking neighboring countries. Under such divisions, it only took him three years to expand the territory of the Opru Empire twice, which is even bigger than the largest empire ever, the Aegean Empire."
"Emperor Leman was a ruthless person. He squeezed the people in the occupied land, just like squeezing oranges to get juice, and used all the harvest to equip the army. In terms of the country's wealth, the Aegean Empire is comparable to the three Opus Lu, in terms of force, Opulu is worth three Aegeans."
Andrew sighed and said, "The Opru Empire is like a deformed giant, with powerful arms capable of wielding huge weapons."
Fang Jie suddenly thought of the madman who brazenly launched a world war in his previous life.
"When the subordinates came to the Central Plains, the Opru Empire was at war with the Aegean Empire. In order to paralyze the people of the Aegean Empire, Emperor Leman submitted a letter of credence to the Aegean Empire, expressing his willingness to surrender at the feet of the Aegean Emperor He is also willing to dedicate half of the benefits obtained in each war to the Aegean Empire, so that the emperors and nobles of the Aegean Empire are blinded by the huge benefits."
"Until the army of the Opru Empire invaded the Aegean Empire, the nobles were still arguing about how to divide the gold, silver and jewels presented by the Opru Empire. Emperor Leman was a man who was good at using gold as a weapon, often easier to defeat the enemy than his army."
Andrew said with some regret: "So, until the army of the Aegean Empire had invaded the two principalities of the Aegean Empire, the emperor of the Aegean Empire was still refuting the messenger who asked for help, scolding him for deliberately destroying the Aegean Empire and the Aegean Empire. The pure friendship between the Lu Empire."
He spread his hands: "In this case, how can the Aegean Empire be undefeated? Although the war was not over when the subordinates came down, everyone knows that the Aegean Empire will fall sooner or later."
Fang Jie nodded, remembering the name Peter Lehman in his heart.
"Master, when will you attack Dali City?"
Andrew asked.
"Wait a little longer."
Fang Jie's eyes drifted to Dali City: "Give them some more time."
…
…
dali city
The street closest to the palace is called Shengchang Street, and there are not many ordinary people who can live on this street. Although this place is not comparable to the land and gold on the street south of the Taiji Hall in Chang'an City in the Sui Dynasty, and the rich may not be able to buy it, it is not a location that ordinary people can expect to come to.
The Prime Minister's Mansion is located on the east side of Shengchang Street, and it takes less than half an hour to walk from the Imperial Palace.
As the most powerful Zhu family among the Nanyan families, not only does it have absolute power in the local area, it is also one of the families that can influence Murong shame in Dali City. Zhu Chijian has been able to sit firmly in the prime minister's seat for so many years, not just because he can be an official.
Sandalwood is burning in the living room, and the smell penetrates people's noses as if it can be directly involved in their minds. It is said that this fragrance has a calming effect, but in fact it is chosen by rich people because it is expensive enough.
The person sitting in front of Zhu Chijian was still very young, and it was probably the first time he had undertaken such an important task alone, so he seemed a little unnatural.
After Zhu Chijian glanced at him, he couldn't help but smile: "I have to admire Duke Zhen, having a young and courageous subordinate like you is something to be proud of. I can't understand how you Those who sneaked into Dali City also find it hard to understand how you have the courage to walk into my house."
"How old are you?"
he asks.
The young man replied: "Nineteen."
Zhu Chijian was slightly taken aback: "You can take on such a big job at the age of nineteen... Duke Zhen really dares to employ people."
The young man smiled: "Duke Zhen is only twenty years old."
Zhu Chijian found that although this young man was a little unnatural, this unnaturalness was by no means cramped, nor worried, nor timid, but just...excited
"Are you not afraid that I will take you down with an order? As long as I wave my hand, the guards outside will rush in. I don't believe that you can withstand the torture and catch all of you who sneaked in. Zhen Guogong's plan Is it difficult to continue?"
The young man curled his lips: "There is a distance of seven steps between me and you. For the sake of keeping this conversation secret, you let all the servants go out. If you order me to be arrested, people from outside will have to run at least fifteen steps to rush in. I kill you half the time faster than them. Zhen Guogong said that you only need to measure a little when doing something, so is it a disadvantage? I am just a small person, and you are the prime minister of Nanyan. If I can die You are definitely not at a disadvantage."
He smiled: "What's more, if you want to catch me, why wait until now?"
Zhu Chijian couldn't help but praised: "If the members of the Black Banner Army under Duke Zhen Guo are as courageous as you, then there are really few people who can match."
"You are wrong."
The young man smiled and said, "How could they all be like me? Most of them are better than me."
Zhu Chijian was slightly stunned: "Tell me, what did Duke Zhen ask you to do?"
The young man said: "Show the prime minister a way... clear the way."