Chapter 319: The first battle was a victory, and the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan suffered a loss!

Chapter 319: The first battle was a victory, and the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan suffered a loss!

This item really came to the fore and was widely used at the transition between the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. During that short period, it was used on a large scale, but it did not last long and was soon replaced by more powerful artillery. However, judging whether a weapon is advanced cannot be generalized, and the background of the times must also be considered. If this weapon was placed in the Ming Dynasty, it might be slightly inferior to the advanced equipment at that time; but if it was placed in the distant Qin Dynasty, it would undoubtedly be a top-notch weapon!

Yi Xiaochuan, who had experienced countless reincarnations and was full of mystery, knew an important characteristic of this object - although it was already an extremely deadly weapon against people, the most critical point was the huge advantage it showed when dealing with those machines used for sieges. For example, those powerful crossbows could easily destroy the supporting columns of large siege machines such as catapults.

Siege vehicles are huge, and ordinary bows and arrows can hardly have any substantial impact on them. But once they encounter these siege crossbows, the situation is completely different. They can definitely become the enemy's nightmare. The catapults used by the court now only need to withstand two siege crossbow attacks at most before they can be directly defeated. Moreover, the construction process of the catapult is extremely cumbersome and complicated. It is very easy to be destroyed, but it is extremely difficult to repair it. Even if it is built with all efforts, it will take at least ten days to half a month to complete the construction.

The construction of a siege vehicle may seem simple on the surface, but it actually depends on who the target is. For example, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, although he does know how to build a siege vehicle, it is almost impossible for him to complete it in a short period of time by himself.

After all, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan has gone through thousands of years and has mastered countless knowledge and skills. However, due to the empiricism formed over a long period of time, he is not willing to easily change the course of history, and will never take the initiative to cultivate professionals in this field. After all, even if such talents are cultivated, it will be meaningless in the end, because everything will be reset with the development of history. So for him, what really needs to be cultivated is just a group of people who can act as thugs. As long as those factors that may cause instability can be eliminated, it will be enough.

But in this respect, Gao Yao is completely different from Yi Xiaochuan. Gao Yao is a person who is endowed with abilities by another system. He not only has detailed siege vehicle construction drawings and relevant experience, but is also keen on training carpenters who are good at making engineering machinery.

From complex and sophisticated composite bows, powerful crossbows, to seemingly inconspicuous but crucial horseshoes, Gao Yao required them to be proficient and committed to achieving mass production and construction. In this way, Gao Yao gradually accumulated a skilled and efficient engineering team, which provided strong support for his actions in various situations.

And almost all of these things were thoroughly analyzed by Gao Yao. Among them, there are extremely strict rules for carpenters. They must not leave the place where they are working without permission, even if they just move a small step!

Even the carpenters' families had their living areas strictly demarcated and were not allowed to cross the boundaries. It is no exaggeration to say that, apart from those dispatched by Gao Yao himself to carry out the mission, no one else knew the true existence of these carpenters and their families.

Let's talk about transportation. Before each transportation mission begins, all the relevant transportation personnel are notified of the specific transportation matters at the last minute. Not only that, all items in the entire transportation process, without exception, must be tightly covered with thick black cloth to prevent any leaks. More importantly, there will be Gao Yao's confidants who are responsible for escorting the goods all the way to ensure that nothing goes wrong. As long as anyone is found to be bold enough to take a peek, there is only one ending waiting for him - being ruthlessly beheaded on the spot! After passing through many checkpoints, these goods can finally reach Gao Yao's hands smoothly and be stored separately in an extremely secret place.

As for the military armory, it was a forbidden place that ordinary people could not even think of touching! Even when the army was away on a campaign, the situation was similar. All the remains of the soldiers, including the weapons and equipment they had used, had to be brought back intact, and the enemy was not allowed to leave even the slightest opportunity to take advantage of them. This watertight management method fully demonstrated Gao Yao's caution and shrewdness.

Therefore, although the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan knew that Gao Yao had already developed some smelting technologies, including things like horseshoes, he only knew the basics. It would be harder than climbing to the sky to delve into the real core secrets. After all, spying and assassination are two completely different things. At first glance, it seems that the latter is more difficult and complicated, but in fact, most assassinations only require seizing the opportunity and finding ways to approach the target, which is relatively simple. This also led to a deviation in the news.

Because of this, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, who had been hiding in the rear army and silently observing the development of the entire battle situation, suddenly lost control of his emotions and could not control himself. The reason was the siege crossbows that suddenly appeared on the battlefield, and it was roughly estimated that there were no less than twenty of them!

If this round of intensive volley firepower breaks out, then the five siege vehicles and ten catapults that they have carefully built will undoubtedly be destroyed and scrapped. Once these crucial siege weapons are lost, even if Xia County is finally conquered, how can they deal with other cities next? If the Southern Border Army is determined to defend to the end, and the court army lacks the auxiliary support of key equipment such as catapults and siege vehicles, the efficiency of the siege operation will inevitably be greatly reduced by at least 40%!

"Buzz...Buzz...Buzz..." The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan shouted anxiously, but his voice was of no use no matter how urgent it was. After all, those tools that needed to be moved were huge, so how could they be evacuated in such a short time?

Just as the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan finished speaking, a series of sharp and piercing sounds of breaking through the air suddenly rang out, echoing throughout the smoke-filled battlefield. Everyone stared with horror, watching the huge crossbow arrows, as fierce as dragons emerging from the sea, rushing towards the direction of the catapults and siege vehicles with the force of thunder!

"Crack, crack..." accompanied by a series of terrifying breaking sounds, the moment the crossbow arrow collided violently with the wooden frame, the frame of the siege vehicle and the frame of the catapult almost fell apart in an instant, turning into countless wood chips that flew everywhere.

At the same time, waves of extremely shrill screams were heard one after another, and those soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be nearby had no time to dodge and were directly hit or scratched by the huge crossbow arrows with amazing power, either dying or being injured. In this situation, it is no exaggeration to describe it as "killing if you scratch, and being injured if you touch", which shows how terrifying its lethality is!

"Puff..." A loud noise was heard, and the extremely solid frame suddenly shattered. The huge tree that was originally hanging high in the sky fell to the ground with a bang, raising a cloud of dust. At the same time, the solid wood parts of many catapults were not spared, and they were shattered under the violent impact. In an instant, the entire catapult slowly tilted and collapsed like a giant that had lost its support.

This sudden change caused the entire imperial army to fall into extreme chaos. The soldiers shouted in fear and fled in all directions, trying to avoid the constantly falling wood and boulders. The originally neat and orderly formation collapsed in an instant, and the situation became out of control.

In this chaotic moment, the Southern Border Army did not hesitate at all. They keenly caught the enemy's flaws and took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. Countless bowstrings were tightened. With the sound of orders, dense rain of arrows poured down like locusts passing through the border, overwhelming the imperial army under the city wall.

"Withdraw!" At this moment, Yi Xiaochuan, a mysterious figure who had been hiding in the dark and observing the battle situation, finally couldn't suppress his inner anger. He gritted his teeth and let out a roar.

The situation was out of control, and more than half of the siege equipment had been destroyed. If they did not withdraw from the battlefield in time, the remaining siege equipment would be destroyed. Moreover, after the riot just now, the morale of the Southern Border Army had been greatly improved, while their morale was low and they were completely in a passive situation. If they continued to attack forcefully, the price they would pay would be unimaginable.

Li Xin saw the situation and began to shuttle among the imperial army without hesitation, shouting and commanding them to retreat quickly. His body was as agile as lightning and his voice was as loud as thunder, ensuring that every soldier could hear his orders clearly.

At the same time, Gao Yao, standing on the city wall, looked down at the chaotic imperial army below. He saw that under Li Xin's command, they began to quickly return to their bases and evacuate the battlefield in an orderly manner, as if they were being combed by an invisible hand.

Gao Yao couldn't help but sigh: "They are indeed an elite division! Even though they just suffered heavy losses, they were still able to restore order so quickly and then retreat in an orderly manner. Such discipline and accomplishment are truly admirable!"

Then, Gao Yao turned around and ordered Erniu beside him: "Erniu, quickly organize people to clean up the battlefield, properly place our casualties, and let the soldiers take turns to eat and rest. Make sure everyone gets enough rest to deal with the situation that may arise next."

"Yes!" Erniu responded loudly, then turned and ran away, quickly carrying out the task according to Gao Yao's instructions. Gao Yao himself, dragging his body that had not yet fully recovered, slowly walked down the city wall and went straight back to the county government office. He knew that his body still needed to be nursed back to health, so he had to seize every available time and rest as much as possible in order to recover his strength as soon as possible and better command the subsequent battles.