My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 260 Two Types of Catapults

After appeasing Cao Bao and inspecting the ironworks, Liu Feng resolved the matter in Xiapi and gave Cao Bao a deadline to go on his wedding journey.

With Cao Bao bidding him a reluctant farewell, Liu Feng left Xiapi and returned to Tancheng.

Upon returning to Tancheng, Liu Feng immediately went to pay his respects to his maternal grandmother and mother.

Liu Feng's stepmother and mother hadn't seen him for almost half a year and missed him terribly, so they held onto him tightly and wouldn't let go.

In the following days, Liu Feng not only resumed his daily greetings, but also spent all his time with the two women, neglecting other matters.

Fortunately, Wu and Tian were quite busy these days, and after easing their longing for their family, they let Liu Feng leave to handle his affairs.

The Wu and Tian families of today are no ordinary people.

She was the mother and principal wife of the General of the Cavalry of the Han Dynasty, and the great mother and biological mother of the General Who Conquers the South of the Han Dynasty.

Not to mention the local gentry and powerful families of Tancheng, even the wives of gentry and powerful families from the surrounding counties and kingdoms would come to visit and inquire about the Wu and Tian families. Liu Feng's stepmother and mother, having nothing to do, would also invite them to gatherings in the prefectural government to strengthen their relationship.

Relieved, Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief. The enthusiasm and concern from Madam Wu and Madam Tian were so intense that Liu Feng felt somewhat pressured.

Soon, Liu Fa, Lou Shi, Liu Li, Sa Heli, Xianyu Yin, and others gathered around, ready to report on the matters they were responsible for.

Liu Feng only glanced at matters such as land reclamation and Liu'er Camp, and let them go without finding any major biases.

These tasks are not particularly difficult; they mainly involve following the rules and regulations and ensuring logistical support, and there shouldn't be any major problems.

At this time, Liu Feng was primarily concerned with the workshop overseen by Xianyu Yin.

"What progress has been made on the projects that were arranged previously?"

As Liu Feng asked his question, everyone's eyes in the hall turned to Xianyu Yin.

Xianyu Yin was also one of the earliest young men to follow Liu Feng, and he was from a branch of the Xianyu family in Youzhou.

However, when he was young and homeless, his master did not lend him a hand. Instead, Liu Feng saved his life when he was about to freeze to death.

Xianyu Yin was quite talented in craftsmanship, so Liu Feng appointed him to be in charge of several craft projects.

This included numerous projects such as counterweight catapults, waterwheels, and mills. He even specially recruited several key members of the Liu'er Camp youth corps who were particularly interested in technology to assist him in overseeing the overall project.

Although the initial investment was very small, only tens of thousands of coins and four or five craftsmen.

However, as Liu Feng's wealth grew, he received more manpower, funds, and resources.

In particular, Liu Feng also drew many sketches, some of which were quite detailed, such as counterweight catapults, waterwheels, and mills. Although Liu Feng could not remember all the details, he still remembered their general functions.

"Reporting to the young master, the counterweight catapult, waterwheel, mill, tippler, etc. have made great progress, and samples have been produced."

Xianyu Yin looked somewhat nervous, secretly observing Liu Feng's expression as he reported, trying to guess whether the other party was satisfied with the progress of his mission.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng immediately became interested: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go take a look now."

Liu Feng stood up and called to everyone, "Since you're all here, let's go together and let you experience the power of this extraordinary technique."

Although Liu Fa and the others did not understand why Liu Feng cared so much, they all got up and followed behind Liu Feng.

The place arranged for Xianyu Yin and his group was behind the prefectural government building. A large area was specially fenced off for them, which even included a small pond built by diverting water from outside Tancheng into the city.

Emerging from the back gate of the prefectural government, it only took a short while before we arrived at the workshop.

There are also fifty armored soldiers on duty in shifts, and unauthorized personnel are strictly prohibited from spying.

Since Liu Feng continuously increased the resources invested, the number of craftsmen here has increased to more than thirty, most of whom are carpenters and a small number are blacksmiths.

These people were gathered together and, under Xianyu Yin's arrangement, attempted to replicate the objects in the sketches drawn by Liu Feng, referring to the sketches he had drawn.

"Young Master, which item would you like to see first?"

Xianyu Yin followed behind Liu Feng and asked respectfully.

Liu Feng paused for a moment, and after considering it for a while, he decided to say, "Let's look at the catapults first."

"Yes! Young Master!"

Xianyu Yin quickly jogged a few steps and led Liu Feng ahead, saying, "Young Master, please come this way."

By this time, the workshop area had become quite large and had been divided into several areas.

The catapult workshop was clearly one of the best.

It not only occupies the largest area, but also has the most abundant manpower.

Among them, the Lu craftsman who successfully replicated the curved plow was also here.

Upon seeing Liu Feng from afar, Lu Gong hurriedly approached him, kneeling down from a distance to pay his respects.

Liu Feng stepped forward and, disregarding the difference in their status, personally helped the other man up, saying with a smile, "Lu Gong is still vigorous despite his old age. He has already rendered meritorious service to my father and Xuzhou, and this time he has made new contributions. He has truly worked hard and made great contributions. When you see me again in the future, you will not need to kneel down to me."

Although the Han Dynasty did not promote kneeling and bowing, it does not mean that kneeling and bowing did not exist.

You should know that there were still legitimate nobles in the Han Dynasty. If a commoner saw a noble, it would be a sin to block his way.

However, kneeling and bowing were rarely performed within the ruling class, especially when it came to the issue of monarchical power.

The power of officials during the Han Dynasty was considerably stronger than that of later dynasties.

Putting aside the power of the prime minister, the reason why the Three Dukes held such a high position was because they were personally invited by the emperor.

In theory, the emperor should thank the ministers who serve as the Three Dukes for their contributions to the country and the royal family.

Under such equal circumstances, kneeling and bowing rituals naturally cease to be popular.

At the same time, the people of the Han Dynasty were strong-willed, valued righteousness, respected filial piety, and had a strong sense of patriotism, so kneeling and bowing were not common among the common people.

This creates the misconception that there was no kneeling ceremony during the Han Dynasty, but in fact, there was.

Lu Gong was merely a craftsman, while Liu Feng was already a high-ranking official with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), a rank comparable to the Three Dukes, and had the power to establish his own government office.

Given the vast difference in their social status, it's not surprising that the Shandong Association would take the initiative to kneel in obeisance.

"This humble subject thanks the general for his kindness."

Lu Gong was clearly too excited and couldn't help but want to kneel down again, but Liu Feng stopped him in time.

Liu Feng did not criticize the other party harshly, after all, Lu Gong was just a craftsman in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and could be said to be a true member of the lower class.

So he changed the subject: "Ah Yin, which machine did Engineer Lu develop?"

Xianyu Yin hurriedly replied, "It is a catapult, and both types of catapults you drew in your sketch have been made."

"Oh, they've actually been manufactured?"

Liu Feng was truly astonished this time. Of the two sketches he had drawn, the first was naturally the most famous counterweight catapult, with the Huihui cannon of the Yuan Dynasty being the most powerful example.

Another type is the wheeled catapult.

If the counterweight catapult is like the cannon of the classical era, then the wheeled catapult is roughly like the heavy machine gun of this time.

The wheel-driven catapult is an improvement on the lever catapult from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The lever is replaced with a rapidly rotating wheel mechanism, which allows the catapult to continuously throw out multiple stones in a short period of time, making it extremely powerful.

However, the stones that a rotary catapult can throw are generally only 5 to 10 kilograms in weight, which is nothing compared to a counterweight catapult.

The stones that a counterweight catapult can throw start at 60 jin (30 catties) and can eventually reach more than 300 jin (150 kg).

Of course, the heavier the stone, the greater the wear and tear on the catapult itself, and the shorter the throwing distance.

Generally speaking, the distance of a trebuchet is between eighty and one hundred and twenty meters.

The counterweight catapult is far superior to the wheeled catapult in terms of both the weight and distance of the projectile, and can throw a 200-pound object more than 200 meters.

Originally, Liu Feng mainly hoped to make progress on the counterweight catapult, but he did not expect that Xianyu Yin and Lu Gong would give him a double surprise.

"Okay, let's look at this first."

Liu Feng immediately decided to test the effectiveness of the catapult first.

The finished catapults were large and quite complex in structure, making them relatively easy to damage. Therefore, Xianyu Yin specially built two warehouses to store the finished catapults and important parts.

Liu Feng first selected a large warehouse, and upon entering, he discovered that it indeed contained counterweight catapults.

The original finished product of this counterweight catapult was five meters high, four meters long, and one and a half meters wide, and was mainly composed of seven parts.

Compared to the trebuchet, the counterweight catapult in front of us is quite rudimentary, but most of the basic components are already in place.

To further refine the design, simply increase the strength of the material, as well as the lever and overall structure, to effectively enhance its power.

"Reporting to the young master, this catapult can currently throw round stones weighing sixty catties, with a maximum range of one hundred and forty steps."

With a nervous heart, Xianyu Yin continued to explain the catapult's performance to Liu Feng: "It can launch thirty times in a row without any problems. But after thirty times, the probability of the mechanism breaking down will greatly increase."

Liu Feng nodded in satisfaction. One hundred and twenty steps was roughly two hundred meters, which far exceeded his expectations.

It should be noted that Liu Feng's expectation was only that the stone projectile weighing thirty pounds be thrown a distance of one hundred meters.

After all, reaching this level already demonstrates its practical combat capability.

The killing power of bows and arrows in this era was only thirty to fifty meters, while only powerful bows could reach eighty meters.

Crossbow bolts are very effective at penetrating armor, but their range is actually similar to that of bows and arrows, and their maximum range is even less than that of a powerful bow.

Therefore, as long as the counterweight catapult can meet Liu Feng's expectations, it can be directly deployed in the siege, since its range exceeds the range of the long-range firepower of the defenders on the city wall.

The catapult's performance data now exceeds Liu Feng's expectations by almost double, which means that the catapult can not only be deployed in battle immediately, but its safety has also been greatly improved.

What used to require pushing the wall to within 100 meters of the city wall can now be attacked from within 200 meters.

This range advantage provides significant security and greatly increases the risk of the enemy leaving the city to destroy the catapults.

"well done."

Liu Feng first praised Xianyu Yin a few times, and then said to Lu Gong: "Lu Gong's skills are extraordinary. He has made new contributions this time. He will definitely be rewarded later."

Upon hearing this, Xianyu Yin and Lu Gong immediately beamed with joy, especially Xianyu Yin, whose small eyes narrowed into slits due to his rather chubby face.

"Let's go take another look at the rotating catapult."

Liu Feng took the lead and headed towards another warehouse.

Xianyu Yin, Lu Gong, Liu Fa, and others followed suit.

This time, the catapults placed in the warehouse were much smaller, no more than three meters high, and less than two meters in length and width.

Unlike counterweight catapults, wheeled catapults are not equipped with ropes, but rather with a disc. They can continuously launch small stones weighing less than 10 kilograms over a distance of more than 300 meters, and can also launch five or six small stones at the same time, but the range will be significantly shortened.

Liu Feng circled the catapult twice, then asked Lu Gong, "How heavy is this catapult?"

After thinking for a moment, Lu Gong replied, "It weighs about 1,100 jin."

One jin in the Han Dynasty was roughly equivalent to half a jin in later times, and more than 1,100 jin was equivalent to about 300 kilograms in later times.

A weight of 1,100 jin (approximately 550 kg) can be pulled by a single horse or mule, provided it is paired with a suitable cart.

Catapults are often enormous machines. Even without considering counterweight catapults, the tonnage of a wheeled catapult is often several hundred kilograms.

Transporting the former would be extremely difficult. Not only would it be hard to find such a large vehicle, but it would also require at least two horses to pull such a weight.

The difficulty of riding a single mule versus a double mule increases exponentially. The time and resources required to train a rider capable of riding two mules are enough to train three to five riders capable of riding a single mule.

A single mule could pull between 300 and 700 kilograms of cargo, which translates to over 1,200 jin (a unit of weight) in the Han Dynasty.

The difference mainly depends on the breed of horse and the strength of each individual horse.

A particularly good packhorse can even pull more than twice its own weight.

Therefore, Liu Feng placed his hopes on the trebuchet, which weighed 1,100 jin (approximately 650 kg). Even a single horse or mule could have the strength to pull it, and some ammunition could even be prepared on the vehicle.

After receiving a satisfactory reply, Liu Feng was in a good mood and tentatively asked, "Could the counterweight catapult be made lighter? As long as its weight is kept below 2,400 catties, it doesn't matter if the power and range are reduced a bit. It would be best if it could be pulled by a single horse or mule."

Lu Gong frowned, silently calculated the weight of the counterweight catapult in his mind, and then decisively shook his head: "Young Master, I'm afraid this won't work. The counterweight catapult itself needs to be very strong. If we rashly reduce the weight, it will only weaken the catapult itself, which will seriously affect its safety and accuracy."

Liu Feng took the experts' opinions very seriously and immediately said that there was no need to make any changes.

Thinking about it carefully, there is indeed no need for counterweight catapults in field battles, as those things are simply too heavy and cumbersome.

On the contrary, the trebuchet was quite good. The idea of ​​using horse-drawn carriages to move the trebuchet on the battlefield, and then devising tactics to suddenly launch a large number of stones at a certain enemy position to tear open a gap for cavalry and infantry to expand their gains.

Liu Feng felt incredibly excited just thinking about it.

Few troops would be able to withstand the barrage of stones.

"Let's tentatively set it for the day after tomorrow."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Feng decided, "We'll leave the city the day after tomorrow to test the actual effectiveness of these two machines."

I have indeed seen the finished product and heard about its various parameters, but I haven't actually seen it in person.

Although the data is quite encouraging, ultimately we have to see it for ourselves.

Therefore, Liu Feng eventually arranged a date for the actual battle.

Liu Feng had already set a standard in his mind. He didn't expect them to meet it completely. As long as they could meet 60% of the standard, Liu Feng would consider Xianyu Yin and Lu Gong qualified.

If more than 70% of the target can be achieved, it is considered good and a certain reward can be given.

If they can achieve more than 80% of the target, that's considered excellent, and Liu Feng will definitely give them a generous reward.

As for anything higher, Liu Feng is not considering it for the time being.

Since it's highly unlikely to happen, if it does, consider it a pleasant surprise.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's arrangements, Xianyu Yin and Lu Gong visibly tensed up. However, it was only a slight tension; their finished products had all been tested in actual combat, and they were not deceiving Liu Feng.

Xianyu Yin suppressed his slight panic and replied, "Yes, young master, I will arrange the relevant matters tomorrow, and we will conduct a drill outside the city the day after tomorrow."

"good!"

Liu Feng nodded in satisfaction: "Let's take a look at the other things."

"Yes! Young Master."

Xianyu Yin hurriedly led the way, taking Liu Feng to other courtyards.

"Let's go check out the waterwheel."

After leaving the courtyard where the catapult workshop was located, Liu Feng took the initiative to ask to go see the waterwheel.

Several pieces of machinery related to water conservancy facilities now hold a very high place in Liu Feng's heart.

Because a two-year drought is expected to break out in the Huai and Si regions next year, which will completely destroy Yuan Shu's tax base, forcing him to expand outwards in an attempt to plunder enough grain.

Because Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, he directly gave Sun Ce the opportunity to betray him.

Sun Ce's betrayal directly led to the defection of Jiangdong.

The governors of Danyang and Wu Commandery appointed by Yuan Shu were driven out by the generals of Sun Ce's camp, while the Sun family army in Guangling and Liyang in Jiangbei directly abandoned their official positions and territories and returned to Jiangdong.

It seemed like only a moment had passed before the Sun family completely severed ties with Yuan Shu.

However, Sun Ce will not have this opportunity again in this timeline. Yuan Shu, who is currently being suppressed by Liu Bei and confined to a corner of the world, is not exactly on the verge of death, but he has reached the point of just getting by.

proclaim oneself emperor?

Yuan Shu now only dares to indulge in his fantasies.

In Liu Feng's plan, he would start his military campaign in the second half of this year, with the main target being the two counties north of the Yangtze River.

Victory is a sure thing, but there are a lot of troubles after winning.

The first thing to be affected is the drought next year.

Now that Yuan Shu has been eliminated, Xuzhou will have to take the fall for him, like a thunderbolt that brings great drought.

(End of this chapter)